Knee decisions — 2024

The Veteran is granted a TDIU effective August 7, 2020 due to service-connected disabilities. The issue of entitlement to a TDIU prior to that date is remanded for extraschedular consideration.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities, alcohol use disorder, and increased ratings for his psychiatric disability and seborrheic dermatitis have been dismissed as the issues were improperly docketed due to concurrent elections.

The Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to various dates have been dismissed as the decisions were final and not subject to revision.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee strain and hysterectomy, finding that the Veteran's conditions are at least as likely as not related to her active-duty service.

The Veteran's costochondritis, cervical strain, right knee strain, and right wrist chronic sprain have been evaluated at the current levels. The Veteran is seeking higher ratings for these conditions.,The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for left ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee conditions.,The Board also dismissed the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition (claimed as PTSD and mental to include depression), noting that her claim was moot due to a prior grant of service connection.

The Board has found that there was a duty to assist error and remanded the claims for service connection of cervical spine, right knee, and left knee disabilities due to their relationship with service-connected lumbosacral strain.

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for left hip osteoarthritis and right knee condition due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran was not provided with an opportunity to submit records from his private physician, Dr. P.

The Veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for TDIU, which the Board has decided to remand due to insufficient evidence of unemployability by reason of service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of PTSD, right foot post operative residuals bunionectomy, and hypertension are being remanded due to the failure to obtain all relevant VA treatment records.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for right foot, left foot, and left knee disorders due to inadequate VA medical opinions addressing direct service connection.

The Board has determined that no single service-connected disability other than PTSD with unspecified dissociative disorder alone precludes the Veteran from securing and following substantially gainful employment, thus denying his claim for a TDIU based on a single service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea was denied in a prior rating decision, but the effective date of July 20, 2018, is restored.,For patellofemoral pain syndrome with shin splints (claimed as left knee condition), the effective date of July 20, 2018, is granted.

The Board has decided to remand the service connection claim for a right knee disability due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran's lay statements and medical records indicate he experienced symptoms during service, but the VA examiner did not consider these in their opinion.

The Veteran's right knee disability is granted with a 10 percent rating for limitation of extension, effective March 29, 2021.

The Board has decided that service connection for plantar fasciitis is denied. The remaining claims of service connection for allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, bronchitis with chronic cough, anxiety, depression, insomnia, headaches, acid reflux with nausea, benign prostatic hyperplasia with voiding dysfunction, kidney stones, cervicalgia, lumbago, sciatica, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, bilateral elbow epicondylitis, a left knee condition, and right knee strain are remanded for further development.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, and left knee disability due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for higher ratings and earlier effective dates for TDIU and DEA benefits due to incomplete VA examinations in July 2020. The Veteran needs new examinations to assess his right knee and left ankle disabilities, as well as further development of his insomnia and anxiety disorders claim.

The Board has denied service connection for sinusitis, rhinitis, toenail fungus, hepatitis C, a left hand/thumb disorder, and right hand disorders. The claim for a right knee disorder is remanded due to the failure of the October 2020 VA examiner to discuss in-service treatment.

The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date and a compensable disability rating for bilateral knee instability were denied. The Board found that the June 2020 decision, which granted service connection for bilateral knee instability as a complication of already-service-connected knee disabilities, is final.