Knee decisions — 2024

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability has been reopened due to new and relevant evidence. The Board is remanding the case for further development, including obtaining an appropriate medical opinion on the etiology of her right knee disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left knee disabilities due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The case will be returned for further examination and opinion.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder and a compensable disability rating for his right knee medial meniscus tear, finding that there is insufficient evidence to support these claims.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for shin splints was denied as there is no current diagnosis of this condition.,For the right knee, a rating in excess of 10 percent was denied due to lack of evidence showing limitation of extension or flexion beyond what is already compensated by other ratings.

The Board has remanded the cases for further examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's claims of service connection for tinnitus, erectile dysfunction, hypertension, left knee osteoarthritis, and right knee osteoarthritis. The issues have not been decided yet.

Service connection for hypercholesterolemia, microscopic hematuria, bilateral hearing loss, tinea versicolor, psoriatic arthritis of the knees, shoulders, and ankles, a bilateral shoulder disability (including psoriatic arthritis and bilateral lateral collateral ligament sprain), and a bilateral ankle disability (including psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis) is denied.,The Veteran's hypercholesterolemia and microscopic hematuria are not service-connected as they were preexisting conditions.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence sufficient to readjudicate the previously denied claims of entitlement to service connection for left wrist, right knee, left knee, right ankle, and left ankle disabilities has been received. However, further development is needed as there are pre-decisional duty to assist errors in the current examination reports.

The Board has determined that additional medical opinions are needed to address the etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities, particularly regarding secondary service connection. The claims for cervical spine disability and associated radiculopathy, lumbar spine disability, bilateral hip disabilities, and migraine headaches are being remanded.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for the award of service connection for his left and right knee surgical scars have been dismissed as a matter of law.,The Veteran's requests for compensable evaluations for his left and right knee surgical scars were denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current diagnoses and active service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as of April 1, 2021.

The Board has granted service connection for left knee arthritis, but the claims for right knee arthritis and osteoarthritis of both hips are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's injury to his right hand, index finger. The other claims have been dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for an increased rating for left knee osteoarthritis, including consideration of a separate rating for left knee instability, is remanded due to a duty to assist error. The examination must be conducted to determine the severity of the service-connected left knee osteoarthritis in connection with the partial left knee meniscus tear and whether it is related to the Veteran's service-connected condition.

The Board has granted an earlier effective date of February 4, 2019 for the Veteran's service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected right knee disability. The Veteran was previously denied this claim in May 2019 and appealed it.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, anxiety condition, asthma (shortness of breath), obstructive sleep apnea, left ankle condition, right ankle condition, and left hip condition have all been denied. The Board has also remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee condition and right knee condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is granted. The Board also remanded the claims of entitlement to increased ratings for bilateral knee arthritis due to a lack of recent VA examination.

The Board has remanded the claims for left knee conditions and TDIU due to inadequate prior examinations and further development is required.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to inadequate medical opinions and duty-to-assist errors.,Specifically, the VA examiners did not provide sufficient rationale for their conclusions regarding the nature and etiology of the claimed conditions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes and bilateral knee disabilities were denied because the claims were not filed on the proper forms, and thus they could not be readjudicated.