Knee decisions — 2024

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been submitted to readjudicate the claims of service connection for a right knee condition, left knee condition, and residual scarring from shell casing burns of upper back/neck. The claims are being remanded for further development.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for readjudicating service connection claims for various conditions, as the underlying merits of these claims have already been adjudicated by the AOJ and the appeal is moot due to finality or lack of new and relevant evidence.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to procedural errors in docketing under the AMA system.

The Board denied service connection for right and left knee disabilities, finding that the Veteran's current conditions did not have onset in or within one year post-service and were not causally related to his service.

The Board has granted service connection for left and right knee degenerative arthritis, finding that the conditions began during service as a farrier.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypothyroidism was dismissed as the RO granted it in a prior decision.,Service connection for hypertension is granted from August 10, 2022, under provisions of the PACT Act. The claim for hypertension before that date remains pending and will be remanded.

The Veteran's initial compensable evaluation for left ear hearing loss is denied due to the audiometric findings not meeting the criteria for a compensable rating.,Service connection for anxiety is denied as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease that could be related to current symptoms.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of a VA examination and medical opinion regarding any bilateral knee disabilities, as well as the need to differentiate these from already service-connected lower extremity radiculopathies.

The appellant's claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted. The appeal for service connection for headaches is dismissed as moot due to the July 2022 rating decision recognizing it as a symptom of his service-connected TBI. The appellant's initial disability rating for residuals of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and associated symptoms, including headaches, is granted at 40 percent.

The Board has determined that the VA examinations for the Veteran's low back, right knee, and left knee disabilities are inadequate. The Board is therefore remanding these issues to obtain new opinions from VA examiners.

The Veteran's service-connected right knee condition, right ankle condition, and radiculopathy, right lower extremity associated with lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome caused or aggravated the claimed conditions of left hip strain with osteoarthritis with small acetabular osteophytes, right hip strain with osteoarthritis with small acetubular osteophytes, left knee Hodgkins Schlatter disease with pain, and calcaneal spur, left ankle pain.

The Board has found that the VA examinations provided in January 2021 were deficient and remanded for new examinations to determine the current severity of the Veteran's migraine headaches, painful right knee scars, and bilateral plantar fasciitis.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with tendinopathy and tendinitis is due to his service, meeting the criteria for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected right ankle, left ankle, right knee, and left knee disabilities have been rated at 10 percent each since June 17, 2020. The Board has determined that the evidence does not support a higher rating for any of these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error, specifically regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected conditions and his obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The VA is instructed to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA clinician addressing causation and aggravation.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disability and left ankle neuropathy, finding that additional development is needed to address the relationship between these conditions and his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for Camp Lejeune water contamination issues, Gulf War syndrome, and sleep apnea have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and active service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals regarding the ratings and service connection for various knee conditions, nerve damage, and sleep apnea.

The Board has remanded the claims for prostate cancer, hypertension, obesity, sleep apnea, lumbar spine disability, bilateral pes planus, left foot bunion, right foot bunion, left ankle disability (claimed as achilles tendonitis), left knee disability, right knee disability, left hand disability, right hand disability, left elbow disability, right elbow disability, left shoulder disability, and right shoulder disability due to incomplete military records.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for sacroiliitis with spondylosis, and degenerative disc disease, thoracolumbar spine (back pain) and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity is dismissed as a matter of law.,The Veteran's appeal for a separate 10 percent rating for right knee instability is granted.