Knee decisions — 2023

The Veteran's lung cancer and right and left knee disabilities are being remanded for further evaluation due to incomplete or conflicting opinions in the initial VA examinations. The claims will be reconsidered with new evidence.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral knee disabilities due to incomplete consideration of relevant evidence and potential overlap with other issues. The case is also remanded for a new VA examination to assess the severity of the Veteran's left and right knee conditions, including any instability.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for increased ratings of his right and left ankle disabilities. The issues of whether new and material evidence was submitted to reopen a claim for service connection for a right eye injury, service connection for diabetes mellitus, and entitlement to increased ratings for knee and migraine headaches are remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a compensable rating prior to April 18, 2019, and in excess of 10 percent thereafter for bilateral hearing loss, as well as his claim for service connection for a right knee disability.

The Board has remanded the claims for burn residuals of the face, left knee disability, right knee disability, right shoulder disability, left hand disability, and right hand disability due to incomplete efforts in confirming the Veteran's dates of reserve service and obtaining relevant medical records.

The Board has remanded the claims for increased ratings for right knee, left knee, and right shoulder disabilities due to inadequate examination results. The Veteran's bilateral knee conditions are associated with his scars, so these issues are inextricably intertwined.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee condition due to insufficient medical evidence and the need for further examination.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability but remanded the case for further development regarding a left foot disability.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with osteoarthritis and left knee patella recurrent instability/subluxation have been denied as his conditions do not warrant a rating higher than 20 percent.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, left shoulder bicipital tendonitis, major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder (NOS), left knee tendonitis, and cervical spine intervertebral disc disease (to include cervical strain) have all been denied. The effective dates for these awards have also been denied.

The Board has found that the VA examinations provided were inadequate for determining the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral knee conditions. The claims are being remanded to obtain new medical opinions and examinations.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment prior to August 7, 2020.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for low back condition, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, left knee condition, and left ankle condition due to incomplete records and need for further examination.

The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated as 30 percent disabling from May 1, 2022, to December 15, 2022. The Board has granted a 60 percent rating for the entire period on appeal.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU prior to February 29, 2016. The Board referred the issue of entitlement to a TDIU to the Director of Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee, right knee, and left shoulder disabilities due to issues with the adequacy of prior VA examination opinions. The Veteran contends these conditions are related to his service-connected left ankle strain.

The appeal of the issue of entitlement to service connection for GERD is dismissed. The case has been returned to the Board due to a withdrawal by the Veteran.

The Veteran's L4-5 degenerative disc disease is granted an initial rating of 20 percent effective January 11, 2016. Service connection for right knee osteoarthritis and thrombocytopenia are granted. The left knee disability and bilateral ankle disabilities are denied.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus and allergies, but denied reopening of the claims for degenerative joint disease of the knees and depression. The case is remanded to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of back condition, cervical spine condition, and allergies.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee tibial prominence and Osgood-Schlatter's disease is denied. The most persuasive evidence is against a finding that he has otherwise compensable range of motion loss, instability, subluxation, or any other impairment of the left knee.