Knee decisions — 2023

The Veteran's right knee disability is granted as service connected. The Board finds that the Veteran has a current disability of severe right shoulder pain related to her military service and remands for further examination. The Veteran's rheumatoid arthritis is also found to be at least as likely as not related to service.

The Board has denied service connection for left and right knee disabilities due to the lack of current diagnoses.,The Board has also remanded claims for bilateral hearing loss, skin disability, left shoulder disability, and right foot disability as there is insufficient evidence addressing their etiology.

The Board has remanded the claims for left-knee patellofemoral syndrome and left-ankle strain due to deficiencies in VA examinations, including lack of specification on whether range-of-motion measurements were taken in a weight-bearing or non-weight-bearing position. The TDIU claim is also remanded as part of this appeal.

The Board denied service connection for right knee and left knee disorders, finding that the Veteran's current conditions did not meet the criteria for direct service connection due to lack of evidence showing a chronic condition in service or continuity of symptomatology.

The Veteran's right knee instability is rated separately from April 26, 2022, but no earlier. The issue of a higher rating for the disability remains pending.,Other issues related to the Veteran's right ankle and lumbosacral strain are still under review.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development, including obtaining a new VA medical opinion regarding the Veteran's right knee disability and issuing a Statement of the Case (SOC) for the issue of an earlier effective date for service connection.

The Veteran's increased rating claims for lumbosacral strain, cervical strain, left knee arthritis with internal derangement, right upper and lower extremity radiculopathy have all been denied.,Specifically, the criteria for a higher rating were not met for each condition.

The Veteran's claim for left knee disability was previously denied due to lack of evidence linking the condition to service. The Board has now reopened the claim based on new evidence, but a remand is required as further clarification and evaluation are needed.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a bilateral eye condition, a body rash condition, a right knee condition, and a right index finger condition. The evidence does not show current disabilities for any of these conditions.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea has been dismissed. The claims of service connection for a bilateral knee disability are remanded.

The Board has denied service connection for left shoulder pain and right knee condition, but granted a separate rating for femoral neuropathy related to the Veteran's inguinal hernia repair. The claim for a compensable rating for residuals of a right inguinal hernia repair is pending.

The Board has granted service connection for cervical spine, lumbar spine, and left knee disabilities. However, the appeal is remanded for further action on claims for osteopenia, migraine headaches, an acquired psychiatric disability, a left shoulder disability, and a right knee disability.,Service connection is established for tinnitus due to its presumptive association with service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Gulf War.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back, right knee, and left knee conditions due to a lack of current diagnoses or evidence of functional loss constituting disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right-knee status post meniscal tear and repair surgery, and right-knee instability were denied. The effective date of the grant of service connection for right-knee instability was assigned as June 17, 2016.

The claims of service connection for low back disability, residuals of right arm burn, and left knee disability have been granted. The Veteran's right arm burn is considered direct service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, has been reopened. The evidence submitted is new and material as it relates to the unestablished facts necessary to substantiate the claim.,The Veteran's claim of asthma was not reopened because no new and material evidence was received.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right foot disorder has been reopened. Evidence from private doctors suggests that the condition may have started during service, but VA treatment records do not support this.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disorder and right hip disorder are remanded due to insufficient evidence.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right hip disorder is also remanded.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, and has remanded his claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.

The Veteran's right knee disability is granted a 20 percent evaluation for instability, denied an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for limitation of extension prior to May 18, 2023, and granted a separate 20 percent evaluation for meniscal symptoms. A TDIU is granted beginning May 18, 2023.

The Board has denied the Veteran's applications to reopen his previously denied claims for service connection for low back and bilateral knee disabilities, finding that new and material evidence was not received.

The Veteran's combined ratings for left and right knee disabilities have been granted, with a 30 percent rating prior to August 29, 2013, and a 40 percent rating from that date. The claims of service connection for right hand, wrist, and shoulder disabilities are remanded.