Knee decisions — 2024

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for right knee strain and osteoarthritis, finding that there was no evidence of a relationship between his current disabilities and service.

The Veteran's left and right knee disabilities are currently rated at 10 percent each, as they do not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on limitation of motion.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Veteran's initial rating for a right knee disability is denied, as her range of motion does not meet the criteria for an increased rating.,The effective date for service connection of the right knee disability is denied because no prior communication indicating intent to file a claim was received by VA before October 8, 2017.

The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for paraspinous muscle strain and service connection for left knee arthritis are being remanded due to the need for additional development of evidence.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including depression, anxiety and PTSD, was denied. Service connection was granted for lumbar spine arthritis, cervical spine arthritis, right upper extremity cervical radiculopathy (secondary to cervical spine arthritis), right knee osteoarthritis, and left knee osteoarthritis and patellofemoral pain syndrome.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude her from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation, thus the claim for TDIU was denied.

The Board has denied service connection for right-hip condition, shin-splints condition, right-knee condition, neck condition, and left-wrist condition. The claim for an increased rating for lumbar-spine condition is remanded.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to readjudicate the claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities. The claims are now remanded due to a duty to assist error.

The Veteran's left hip, right hip, left knee, and right knee disabilities are being remanded for further examination to determine their etiology.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of his bilateral knee disabilities, finding that no claim was filed prior to January 2021.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee arthritis due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. The claims will be reconsidered with a new VA examination.

The Veteran's headaches were rated at 10 percent, effective January 7, 2016.,The Veteran's left knee instability was granted a 20 percent rating from February 13, 2018.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, except for the periods when he was already receiving a TDIU.

The Veteran's left knee meniscal tear is granted a separate 20 percent rating effective from August 3, 2019. The Veteran's arthritis and patellofemoral syndrome are denied as not meeting the criteria for a higher than 10 percent rating.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 18, 2018 for her total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) due to the lack of evidence showing that her service-connected disabilities prevented her from obtaining and maintaining gainful employment prior to this date.

The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected PTSD. The Board has also remanded for further examinations and opinions regarding the other claimed conditions.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to deficiencies in the medical opinions provided by VA. The Veteran's claims of service connection and increased disability ratings are being reviewed.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, spine, knee and left ankle conditions, prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left knee disability as secondary to his service-connected right knee disability, finding that the evidence persuasively supports this conclusion.

The Veteran's tension type headaches are granted a 50% rating. The left shoulder instability with history of rotator cuff is denied as it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. A noncompensable rating is granted for left shoulder scars. The low back disability, degenerative arthritis with IVDS, and radiculopathy in both lower extremities are all denied. Ratings in excess of 20% for left knee strain, right knee strain, hemorrhoids, and maxillary sinusitis are also denied. Service connection for sleep apnea is remanded.