Knee decisions — 2024

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability is granted. The claims for service connection for a bilateral knee disability and erectile dysfunction are denied, but the Veteran's claim for an increased rating for PTSD prior to February 19, 2020, and his claim for an increased rating for PTSD since that date are both granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's adenomyoepithelioma was not incurred in active service and remanded the remaining issues for further development.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to address the severity of the service-connected conditions, including PTSD, left knee tendonitis and tendinosis, right knee strain, and lumbosacral strain.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete records and a need for further examination. The Veteran is seeking service connection for various conditions, including her neck condition, left foot ganglion, left knee condition, right shoulder condition, left shoulder condition, and an acquired psychiatric condition (including PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder).

The Veteran's claim for a temporary total rating based on surgical treatment necessitating convalescence for his right knee disorder has been granted from February 26, 2019, through April 9, 2019.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis is being remanded due to the submission of new and relevant evidence.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, psychiatric disorders (including PTSD), bilateral cataracts, bilateral glaucoma, and hearing loss were denied. The Veteran's claim for stomach disability was also denied.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of left ankle arthritis, right knee disability, and right hip disability as they are duplicates of other pending appeals. The Veteran's claim for service connection for atrophy of right lower extremity with weakness is granted due to his service-connected lumbar spine disability.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals regarding earlier effective dates and higher disability ratings for various conditions, including left hip arthritis, peripheral vascular disease, degenerative arthritis with lumbosacral strain, right knee arthritis, and ankle strain. The Board dismissed the appeal due to the withdrawal.

The Veteran's service connection claims for left knee, right knee, and low back conditions have been granted.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for entitlement to service connection for right knee degenerative arthritis and left knee degenerative arthritis due to a duty to assist error.

The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations of his left knee disability was denied. The Board found that the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent were not met for painful limitation of motion and instability throughout the appeal period.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as presumptively associated with herbicide exposure under the PACT Act.,Service connection for arthritis of the left shoulder, right shoulder, left knee, and right knee is granted.

The veteran withdrew their appeals for chronic low back pain and right knee pain, leading to the dismissal of these cases.

The appeal for an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD is dismissed. The Veteran's claim for a TDIU from May 1, 2017 is granted.

The Board has decided to remand the cases of lumbosacral strain and right knee injury/condition due to inadequate medical opinions in the original decision. The Veteran's claims will be reviewed again with a new VA examination.

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for left knee and low back injuries due to duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran's treatment records from a VA medical center in Delaware are missing, and an addendum opinion is needed regarding his low back injury.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate medical opinions provided prior to the June 2019 SOC. The VA must obtain addendum medical opinions addressing whether any currently diagnosed conditions are related to his in-service combat training and running with heavy equipment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus first manifested during service and is presumed to have been incurred therein. The claims for hearing loss, frostbite (lower left and lower right), hypertension, erectile dysfunction, and sleep apnea are remanded due to a failure of the AOJ to obtain relevant records.

The Board has dismissed all appeals related to the Veteran's claims for service connection and earlier effective dates, as the Veteran died during the pendency of these appeals.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for anxiety disability, headaches, right knee disability, and left knee disability have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeals.