Knee decisions — 2023

The Board has dismissed all claims of service connection for various conditions as the Veteran died during the appeal process.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability and a back disability, as secondary to a right knee disability due to incomplete records. The VA will obtain additional medical records and provide an addendum opinion on the etiology of the right knee disability and another VA examination regarding the nature and etiology of the back disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right carpal tunnel syndrome, left carpal tunnel syndrome, and tibial neuropathy of the right knee and lower foot are being remanded.,The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for scar, status post desmoid removal is being remanded.,The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to January 23, 2017 is being remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including fibromyalgia and lumbar spine disability, rendered her unable to secure and maintain substantial gainful employment as of May 30, 2012. The Board granted a TDIU effective from that date.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for right shoulder, left shoulder, right knee, and left knee conditions due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the Veteran's complaints in his service treatment records.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a higher initial rating for his left knee disability and service connection for a left lower extremity nerve pain condition, secondary to his left knee disability. The claims are being returned for further development.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for right knee DJD was reopened and granted. The Board found that the Veteran had a current disability, in-service incurrence of injury, and causal relationship between his current condition and active service.

The Board has granted service connection for neck, low back, right shoulder, left shoulder, and left knee disabilities. The left ankle disability is also granted as arthritis.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed conditions, including diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, kidney disability, skin condition, right hand tremors, left hand disability, right knee condition, left knee condition, right ankle condition, left ankle condition, lower bilateral gout, and sleep apnea are not related to service. As a result, the claims for these conditions have been denied.

The Veteran's left knee arthritis and instability are now rated at 30 percent effective October 7, 2016.

The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's right knee disability, concluding that there is no evidence to support a link between his in-service injury and his current condition.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's right knee disability, including whether it was aggravated by service.

The Veteran was found unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to service-connected PTSD, which prevented him from working. The Board granted a TDIU rating for the period from August 28, 2018, to April 8, 2021.

The Veteran's death was not due to willful misconduct, but his death was not the result of a condition that he had been rated as totally disabled for at least 10 years prior to his death. The appeal is remanded to obtain outstanding treatment records.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection or entitlement to higher ratings for his hip, knee, foot, and ankle conditions.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for psoriasis and related psoriatic arthritis of various joints has been granted. The Board found that the Veteran's psoriasis started during service and continued to present, establishing a grant of service connection.

The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for her service-connected right knee disability and TDIU prior to July 2, 2012 are remanded due to conflicting information regarding the presence of a meniscus condition. Additional evidence is needed from an examiner.

The Board has restored the original disability ratings of 60 percent for both right and left knee disabilities, effective February 1, 2020, as the VA Regional Office did not schedule a predetermination hearing prior to reducing these ratings.

The Board has determined that there are pre-decisional duty to assist errors in the service connection determinations for right ankle, left ankle, and left knee disabilities. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability is already conceded by the RO. Therefore, these cases are being remanded for further development.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the reduction of his left knee strain disability rating from 30 percent to 10 percent due to a clear and unmistakable error in an August 2020 decision. The Board dismissed the appeal as a result.