Knee decisions — 2024

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral foot pes planus and knee conditions, require the need for regular aid and attendance due to his inability to perform daily activities such as cooking meals and bathing.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of headaches is granted, with the effective date set at December 7, 2009. The Veteran previously sought service connection for headaches in October 1995 and again in December 2009.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudication of the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability secondary to his service-connected right ankle disability. The appeal is being remanded for further development, including an opinion from a clinician regarding causation and aggravation.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an effective date prior to February 16, 2016 for entitlement to TDIU and basic eligibility to DEA due to lack of factual ascertainability of increase in disability warranting these benefits between March 2, 2015 and February 15, 2016.

The Board has dismissed all claims of service connection due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, and will now consider whether the Veteran's current right knee disabilities are related to service, including his parachute and air assault jumps.

The Board has determined that additional medical examinations and opinions are needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection due to potential pre-decisional errors in previous VA examinations.

The Veteran's right knee disability, characterized by painful or limited motion at times due to pain and other factors, but with full extension to 0 degrees and flexion to greater than 30 degrees, is rated as 10 percent disabling. A separate 10 percent rating for right knee instability effective August 23, 2027, has been granted.

The Board has granted service connection for left ankle, right ankle, left knee, and right knee disabilities based on the Veteran's reports of symptom onset during service.

The Veteran's claims for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, right knee degenerative osteoarthritis, left knee degenerative osteoarthritis, right shoulder strain, and left shoulder strain are denied as there is no evidence of a claim prior to July 18, 2022.,The Veteran's claim for migraines has been reopened due to new and relevant evidence. The claims will be readjudicated.

The Veteran withdrew all issues on appeal, including those for bilateral flat feet, left shoulder impingement, right shoulder impingement, right knee strain (also claimed as lower leg condition), left Achilles tendinitis (also claimed as ankle condition), abnormal kidney function, benign neoplasm of skin right lower eyelid, bilateral presbyopia/hypermetropia with right eye retina lattice degeneration and round hole, chronic asthma condition, chronic fatigue syndrome, hyperlipidemia, left knee strain (also claimed as lower leg condition), and ventral hernia.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of a left knee disability due to insufficient examination and opinion regarding the etiology of the condition. The case is sent back for further evaluation.

The Veteran's appeals for chronic pain, left and right knee pain, and a breathing problem were dismissed. The Veteran's claims for service connection of his left hip disability (secondary to lumbar spine) and peripheral vestibular disorder (vertigo) are remanded.

The Veteran's left knee brace, used to treat a service-connected disability, caused increased wear and tear on his pants at an increased rate compared to his right knee brace. The Board granted the clothing allowance for the left knee brace in 2020.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found that the earliest date of record showing an ascertainable increase in severity was July 2, 2019.,The effective dates assigned by the AOJ are not supported by the evidence.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for headaches, back disability, left knee condition, and right knee condition due to a duty to assist error in not obtaining adequate examination opinions. The Veteran is seeking service connection for these conditions as secondary to her service-connected PTSD, tinnitus, or non-service connected TMD.

The Board has found that the Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the right knee is remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including failure to consider all relevant evidence and obtain a fully adequate VA medical opinion.

The Veteran was granted TDIU effective July 1, 2019. The Board found that the Veteran could not secure and follow gainful employment from July 18, 2018.

The Veteran's appeals for chronic pain, left and right knee pain, and a breathing problem were dismissed. The Veteran's claims for service connection of his left hip disability (secondary to lumbar spine) and peripheral vestibular disorder (vertigo) are remanded.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for left foot, left knee, and right knee disabilities as secondary to her service-connected bilateral ankle disability.