Knee decisions — 2024

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's right knee disability and his military service.

The Veteran's appeals for various ratings and service connection claims have been dismissed due to his death.

The Board has granted service connection for a left knee disability and remanded the issue of service connection for a right knee disability.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain is granted service connection.,An earlier effective date for the right and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome is denied.,A 10 percent rating for each knee is granted.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for left knee instability and TDIU due to service-connected disabilities has been dismissed as moot. The Veteran is already receiving a combined 100% disability rating, which covers multiple conditions including his knee issues, arthritis, PTSD with depression, sleep disorder, concentration and memory issues, and autoimmune disease. As none of these conditions alone prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment, the TDIU issue has been dismissed as moot.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of adequate examination regarding the Veteran's left knee disability, specifically missing range of motion assessments and failure to address functional impairment during flare-ups.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions were dismissed as the claims were not timely filed.

The Board has determined that there are errors in the decision and requires additional medical opinions to address inconsistencies in the record regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions, including whether they were present during service.

The Veteran's PTSD is related to an in-service sexual assault, and service connection for this condition has been granted. The appeal for a right knee disability was withdrawn.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations for left knee patellofemoral syndrome and thoracolumbar scoliosis with compression fractures were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of entitlement to higher disability ratings for these conditions.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating of their psychiatric disability, back disability, right knee disability, and left knee disability due to inadequate examination reports.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is aggravated by his service-connected PTSD, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal for higher ratings for his right and left knee disabilities has been denied. Separate initial ratings of 10 percent have been granted for each knee from January 14, 2013.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for nonservice-connected pension benefits prior to November 17, 2009 and from November 1, 2016 to July 14, 2017 as his VA compensation benefits were found to be the greater benefit.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities, finding that there was no persuasive evidence showing he needed regular aid and assistance from another person or was housebound as a result of his service-connected conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence showing that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service connection for left knee chondromalacia resulting in osteoarthritis, sinusitis, anosmia, and eczema has been granted with effective dates of July 31, 2015.,An earlier effective date than March 23, 2017 is granted for the reduction in rating for hypothyroidism.

The Board has decided to remand the service connection claims for right shoulder disability and left knee disability due to inadequate medical opinions provided in March 2021. The Veteran's current disabilities are being evaluated again with additional evidence and a new examination.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates for her right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome, as well as related issues. Additional development is needed to obtain relevant medical records.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his service-connected right knee strain have been dismissed as he has withdrawn all remaining issues on appeal.