Knee decisions — 2024

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for left ankle, left knee, and right knee conditions due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal of his previous denial for service connection due to a late filing of the VA Form 10182, which is not timely under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA).

The Board has determined that the Veteran's OSA is a separate condition from his service-connected disabilities and requires further examination to determine its etiology. The relationship between his obesity, which may be related to his service-connected conditions, also needs clarification.

The Veteran's right ankle disability is granted service connection. The effective dates for the grants of service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis, subluxation status post meniscectomy, and scars are denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for a right knee disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors. The claims are inextricably intertwined as they may be associated with each other.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right and left knee conditions as secondary to a service-connected chronic lower back condition, due to an incorrect address of the Veteran. The AOJ needs to verify the correct address and resend the October 2024 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) to the Veteran.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for further development and an addendum opinion regarding whether the Veteran's left knee disability is at least as likely as not due to or aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability.

The Board has granted a 30 percent rating for right and left knee instability under Diagnostic Code 5257, finding that the Veteran's symptoms of severe recurrent subluxation or lateral instability meet the criteria for this rating.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral foot disability, bilateral knee disability, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence.,The Board has remanded several issues, including hypertension, which is suspected to be related to toxic exposure risk activities (TERA) during his Persian Gulf War service.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left knee disability, finding that it is related to his in-service injury and establishing a link between the current condition and service.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for degenerative joint disease of the right knee and instability of the right knee due to degenerative joint disease of the right knee have been dismissed as requested by the Veteran.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 30 percent for left knee surgery, a compensable rating for ACL tear and osteoarthritis with instability, and TDIU from June 7, 2016. The additional evidence received since the February 2024 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) must be considered.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left knee disabilities due to incomplete development, including the lack of association of Vista Imaging records with the file. The case is being returned for further development.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right and left knee disabilities. The case will be returned for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected back disability and other disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, leading to the grant of TDIU. Prior to May 18, 2022, he was also granted SMC at the housebound rate.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee conditions due to insufficient medical opinions in the previous decision.

The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA examination, and additional evidence is needed for a proper evaluation of the Veteran's left knee disability.

The Veteran's right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy is granted an initial disability rating of 20 percent. Other conditions have either been denied or are not at issue.

Your claims for service connection and increased rating have been dismissed as you filed a Supplemental Claim before filing your Notice of Disagreement.