Knee decisions — 2023

The Board has granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU), finding that the Veteran is unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities, including degenerative arthritis in the lumbar spine and bilateral knee replacements. The effective date for this decision is not specified.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not clearly interfere with his normal employability during the period between January 31, 1972 and September 16, 1981. Therefore, he is denied a 10 percent disability rating for this period.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the increased evaluation of PTSD with symptoms of anxiety, depression, and anger is denied. The Veteran was granted service connection for COPD pursuant to the PACT Act.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals of the increased rating claims for degenerative joint disease of the left knee, right knee, and status post meniscotomy scars, left knee.

PTSD service connection is granted, with the Veteran's in-service sexual assault stressors considered.,Loss of strength in left hand and pain with use are not service-connected due to lack of evidence.

The Veteran's left knee instability is granted a 10% rating, effective from the date of the decision. The limitation of extension remains at noncompensable.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for a right knee condition and obstructive sleep apnea before the Board could make a decision.

Service connection for a left leg condition, including as secondary to the service-connected right knee disability, is denied.,Service connection for migraine headaches as secondary to the service-connected tinnitus is granted.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for new examinations and addendums, particularly regarding right knee flare-ups and a back disorder potentially caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions and needs further examination.

The Veteran's right knee disability is currently rated at 40 percent for limitation of extension, effective August 5, 2022. The Board has remanded the issues of service connection and increased rating due to ongoing concerns about the nature and extent of his disabilities.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a separate rating for left knee instability, a compensable rating for limitation of extension, and an increased rating for limitation of flexion due to procedural errors in the initial examination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been remanded due to the failure to obtain VA treatment records and inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran is requested to provide names, addresses, and dates of treatment for all VA and non-VA health care providers who have treated him for his disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea was denied, and his left knee disability received increased ratings of 20% each.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to inadequate medical opinions and a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error. The issues of service connection for lumbar spine, right hip, right knee, bilateral foot, and right shoulder disabilities are being remanded.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has not been submitted to warrant readjudication of the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, left knee disability, cervical spine disability, and lumbar spine disability. The claims are being remanded due to a duty to assist error in the October 2018 rating decision.

The Veteran's bilateral knee degenerative arthritis is being remanded due to the need for a medical opinion regarding whether it was proximately caused or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral pes planus.

The Veteran's service connection claims for posttraumatic DJD of the right knee with lateral instability, left knee DJD as secondary to service-connected disability, and DJD of the left ankle with instability are all granted.,Service connection is also granted for left lower leg pain. High cholesterol was not found to be a disability subject to service connection.

The Veteran's claim for a disability rating of 10 percent for residuals, stress fracture, right knee, with degenerative changes from November 29, 2003, to March 14, 2012, is granted. The claim for a higher rating after March 14, 2012, and for a separate rating of 10 percent for lateral instability due to residuals of a stress fracture of the right knee are denied.

The Board denied service connection for left knee, right knee, and cervical spine disabilities due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.,There is no current diagnosis of a right knee disability.