Knee decisions — 2023

The Board has remanded the case for further action, including referral to the Director of Compensation and Pension Service for extraschedular TDIU consideration. The effective date for TDIU remains at November 27, 2009.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left wrist and left knee disorders due to insufficient rationale in the VA opinions provided.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle and bilateral knee conditions are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the nature of his claimed conditions and their relationship to service, including exposure to environmental hazards in Southwest Asia. Updated treatment records should be obtained.

The Veteran's appeals have been dismissed as the appellant has withdrawn his appeal in its entirety.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable prior to August 12, 2021. The Board found insufficient evidence to substantiate a reasonable possibility that the Veteran is unemployable by reason of his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral knee disabilities due to inadequate range of motion testing in a previous VA examination. A new examination is required.

The Veteran's lower back condition is granted as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability.,A rating of 20 percent for left knee instability from April 18, 2017 to December 10, 2018 has been granted.

The Board has decided to remand several issues related to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including low back disability, radiculopathy of the lower extremities, ankle disabilities, and right shoulder disability. The appeals are being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and arranging for updated examinations.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was denied as he did not provide the necessary information in a VA Form 21-8940, and there is no indication of his inability to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's TDIU from January 26, 2012 is granted. The Board also remanded the matter of an extraschedular TDIU prior to January 26, 2012 for further consideration.

The Veteran's TDIU appeal is remanded due to conflicting evidence regarding his employment history and the impact of his service-connected disabilities on his ability to work. The issue will be referred for extraschedular consideration.

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for left knee strain and low back disability due to a lack of adequate medical opinions regarding their etiology.

The Veteran's claim for a 60 percent rating for psoriasis is granted. The appeal to readjudicate service connection for residuals of a right finger fracture, headaches, insomnia, left knee condition, right knee condition, and back condition is granted.

The Board has granted revision of the November 1982 rating decision that continued a 10 percent disability rating for multiple residual shell fragment wound scars, and implicitly denied separate ratings for four individual painful scars. The decision finds clear and unmistakable error in not assigning four separate 10 percent ratings for the Veteran's painful scars.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbosacral strain, increased evaluations for left femur fracture and left knee instability, and left knee limitation of flexion. The evidence did not support a current diagnosis or link to military service.

The Board has determined that a new VA examination is needed to assess the current severity of the Veteran's right knee disability, as there was a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the December 2019 rating decision.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for chronic headaches prior to July 12, 2022 is granted. The Board has also remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection of his bilateral knee condition due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral knee disorder to include psoriatic arthritis, finding that there is no evidence of a current disability related to service or service-connected conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to incomplete examination reports and procedural issues.

The Board denied all claims for increased ratings for the Veteran's knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.