Knee decisions — 2024

The Veteran's right knee disability is granted as service-connected. The claims for left knee disability and GERD are remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Board denied service connection for right hip, left knee, and right knee disorders. The Veteran's prostate cancer was also not granted service connection.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for payment of non-emergent medical expenses provided on August 4, 2020, as it was not shown to be in a medical emergency and no pre-authorization was provided.

The Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to May 23, 2016, for the grant of service connection for left knee disability, left knee scars, and right ankle disability have been denied.,The Board found that there was no evidence of an informal claim prior to March 24, 2015, indicating the Veteran's intent to file a claim for these disabilities.

The Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are currently rated at 10 percent each, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,VA has denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU as his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's rating for left knee DJD was reduced from 40 percent to 0 percent effective May 21, 2022. The Board found this reduction improper and restored the original 40 percent rating.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss and TBI have been granted service connection. Service connection for left ear hearing loss, headache disorder, lumbar spine disorder, cervical spine disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, and right knee disorder has been denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability and basic eligibility for Dependents' and Educational Assistance benefits prior to March 9, 2022. The AOJ is directed to consider these claims under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b) for extraschedular TDIU.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left ankle strain, left knee strain, and lumbosacral strain due to a duty to assist error that occurred prior to the February 2021 rating decision on appeal. The VA is required to obtain medical opinions as to whether these disabilities are related to service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral foot claw toe condition due to a lack of evidence showing that the disability began during service and is related to an in-service injury or disease.,The Board has remanded the claims for left knee, lower back, neck, and right elbow conditions for further development.

The Board has remanded the issues of earlier effective date for left knee scars, rating higher than 20 percent for lumbar spine degenerative joint disease since March 26, 2012, and entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board finds that service connection is warranted for a right lung granuloma, as the evidence is at least in relative equipoise that it had its onset during active duty.

The Board has granted service connection for right knee strain, finding that the condition started during service and continued after discharge.

The Veteran's right knee condition, diagnosed as meniscal tear, is granted service connection. Service connection for the left knee condition remains pending and will be remanded.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's bilateral knee and shoulder disabilities, as well as his right arm disability, are related to service. However, due to a duty to assist error, the case is being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings of right shoulder sprain and right knee Osgood-Schlatter's disease were denied as there was no evidence indicating the conditions had worsened prior to April 23, 2019.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral ankle disabilities, right elbow disability, and right knee disability are found to have caused or aggravated his obesity, which in turn resulted in his obstructive sleep apnea. As such, the Board grants service connection for obstructive sleep apnea.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been submitted to re-adjudicate the claims for service connection for various disabilities. The claims are now remanded for further review.

The Board has determined that the October 2018 rating decision implicitly denied service connection for a right knee disability. The Veteran's claim was related to his multiple joint pain, which included right knee joint pain. The positive August 2018 nexus between the current right knee strain and in-service PT full combat load training was sufficient to grant service connection for the left knee disability. Therefore, the Board finds that there was CUE in denying service connection for a right knee disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied, and the effective date for the award of service connection for PFB was denied.