Knee decisions — 2024

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated during his active military service and is not otherwise related to his service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between his current knee and back conditions and his military service. The VA is instructed to provide additional medical opinions on these issues.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his service-connected right knee disabilities due to a failure to provide adequate notice under 38 U.S.C. § 5104.

The Board has found that the Veteran's claims for psychiatric disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, gastrointestinal disability, lumbar spine disability, and bilateral knee disabilities are remanded due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee condition and a neck condition, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and active service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left elbow tendinopathy and remanded the issue of service connection for right knee disability.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, claimed as anxiety disorder is denied due to lack of a current diagnosis.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied due to the absence of audiometric findings meeting VA criteria for hearing loss.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is denied due to the absence of reported symptoms and conflicting medical evidence.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for erectile dysfunction, left hand disability, right hand disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability are all denied as there is no credible evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral foot pain, left knee disability, and right knee disability due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran is required to cooperate with VA in obtaining an adequate examination and opinion.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied due to the lack of a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for patellofemoral pain of the right knee and right knee arthritis and patellofemoral pain syndrome were also denied as there is no evidence showing that his conditions are related to service or secondary to his service-connected hypertension.

The Veteran's left knee disability, specifically degenerative arthritis, was not rated higher than 20% prior to March 15, 2022, and 30% from that date. The Veteran also received a separate 10% rating for left knee instability throughout the appeal period.

The Veteran's bilateral plantar fasciitis, left shoulder strain (rotator cuff tendinitis), and lumbosacral strain are not service-connected. The Veteran's allergic rhinitis is also not service-connected.,An initial rating of 20 percent for cervical strain was granted effective March 31, 2022.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for increased ratings for bilateral knee disabilities due to inadequate examination findings and failure to assess weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing range of motion.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new vocational rehabilitation evaluation to determine if he is entitled to additional VR&E services, including pursuing a career in journalism. The current evaluations are insufficient and do not consider his specific interests and aptitudes.

The Board has granted service connection for a right knee disability and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) based on the Veteran's active-duty service. The right knee disability is considered to have been aggravated by military training, while IBS is presumed due to service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations.

The Veteran's left knee disability, including instability and arthritis, is rated at 10 percent. The appeal for a higher rating remains pending as the case is remanded.

The Board denied service connection for left and right knee disabilities, finding that the current disabilities were not incurred in or etiologically related to service.

The Veteran is granted an effective date of January 6, 2020 for his service connection for left shoulder arthritis.

The Board has denied service connection for various conditions, including chronic blood infection, lumbar spine disability, diabetes mellitus type II (diabetes), hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, prostate cancer, right knee disability, and right foot disability. The claims are not supported by the evidence of record.

The claims for service connection of a right knee disability, left ankle disability, and residuals of a head injury have been granted.,The claim for service connection of PTSD has been denied.

The Board has found that the Veteran's service-connected left ankle disability may have caused or aggravated his claimed left knee, right shoulder, left shoulder, and right wrist disabilities. However, further examination is needed to determine if these conditions are currently diagnosed.