Knee decisions — 2023

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip, left ankle, and left knee disabilities as secondary to his service-connected right ankle disabilities due to lack of nexus opinions in the November 2015 VA examination reports. The Veteran needs new VA examinations and medical opinions.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, and bilateral hearing loss. Service connection was granted for a right hand ganglion cyst.,Service connection was not established for the remaining conditions: right hand disability other than ganglion cyst, left hand disability, and left knee disability.

The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to incomplete examination reports and outstanding VA medical records. The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are being evaluated, as is his claim for TDIU.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations to assess the severity of his right knee, left knee, and cervical spine conditions, as well as to determine if he has erectile dysfunction related to service or toxic exposure.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed in order to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection. The case is being remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Board has granted service connection for a bilateral foot disability, to include arthritis. The issues of secondary service connection for bilateral knee and ankle disabilities, each diagnosed to include arthritis, and right hip disability, to a service-connected bilateral foot disability are remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

Service connection has been granted for right and left knee disabilities. Service connection for a lumbar spine disability and diabetes mellitus, type II is remanded.

The Board has granted a separate initial 20 percent rating for right knee meniscal symptoms, effective July 16, 2009. The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for her right knee patellofemoral syndrome prior to April 6, 2021 remains denied.

The Board has remanded the cases for a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's right and left knee disabilities are related to service, particularly considering his back conditions.

The Board has determined that the VA examinations need to be redone due to incomplete testing and additional relevant medical evidence has been added to the file. The appeals for increased ratings for right ankle sprain, right knee strain, and lumbosacral strain are being remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for chronic low back strain. The cases of left knee condition and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for increased ratings of his service-connected lumbar sprain and left knee strain, as well as granted a separate rating for left knee instability effective September 8, 2021. The appeal for an increased rating prior to October 2016 was withdrawn by the Veteran.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's left knee osteoarthritis is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected right ankle condition.

The Board has dismissed the appeals regarding a rating in excess of 10 percent for thoracic DDD, right knee disability, and service connection for left knee disability due to the appellant's withdrawal of the appeal.

The Board has withdrawn several claims and has remanded one issue for further development. The Veteran's external hemorrhoids claim is also remanded.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding his employability and functional impairment from his service-connected conditions.

The Board denied service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD; left foot condition; right foot condition; and left knee condition due to lack of evidence showing an in-service event or injury related to these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right and left knee disabilities have been denied. The Board found that the current evidence did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings under applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has remanded several issues, including service connection for gout and higher ratings for bilateral knee conditions. The Veteran's claims seeking eligibility for SAH and SHA grants are not before the Board as eligibility for SAH precludes an SHA grant.