Knee decisions — 2025

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, a right shoulder condition, tinnitus, hypertension, a right hip condition, bilateral knee conditions, and radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities as there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, IBS, left hip disability, right hip disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The effective date of March 7, 2022, was granted for the award of service connection for right lower extremity sciatica, and November 18, 2021, was granted for GERD.

The Veteran's claim for a higher level of special monthly compensation (SMC) was denied as the evidence did not show that he required personal health-care services provided on a daily basis in his home by a person who is licensed to provide such services or under the regular supervision of a licensed health-care professional.

The Board granted service connection for right hip, neck, left knee, and left shoulder disabilities but denied service connection for a left hip disability, back disability, PCOS, and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's foot and knee disabilities, granted a 100 percent rating for PTSD and MDD, and remanded claims for service connection for asthma and diabetes mellitus.

The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right knee strain and a 30 percent rating for chronic sinusitis, while denying increased ratings for other conditions.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of October 19, 2021, for the award of service connection for tinnitus but denied all other claims for service connection and special monthly compensation.

The Board granted earlier effective dates for some conditions and denied an earlier effective date for lumbosacral strain, while remanding service connection claims for left and right wrist disorders.

The Board denied several claims for increased ratings and granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, restored a 10 percent rating for right knee instability effective May 12, 2021, and granted an effective date of June 22, 2016, but no earlier, for the award of eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits under 38 U.S.C. chapter 35.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral knee medial meniscus repair, upper back strain, and malignant melanoma.

The Board granted service connection for a right knee strain and a left knee strain, finding that the evidence shows these conditions are etiologically related to the Veteran's active-duty service.

The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, and thoracolumbar strain based on evidence of onset during active duty.

The Board granted an initial 10 percent disability rating for the service-connected residual scar to left knee, effective September 7, 2010.

The Board granted service connection for cervical spine, lumbar spine, right knee, and left knee disabilities, as well as radiculopathy of the upper and lower extremities and an insomnia disorder. However, it denied service connection for instability of the left knee and a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including low back pain, right knee pain, right ankle pain, right hip pain, left knee pain, GERD/reflux, mental health disorder, sleep apnea, and left shoulder pain, due to a duty to assist error regarding VA examinations.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of June 15, 2022, for the award of a 10 percent rating for right knee instability and limitation of flexion.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for right hip and right knee disabilities, as secondary to a service-connected crush injury of the right great toe, due to an inadequate VA examination.

The Veteran's requests for extensions of time to file Board Appeal requests were denied, and the attempted appeals were dismissed.

The appeal was withdrawn by the Veteran before a decision was made, and therefore, it is dismissed.

The Board denied increased ratings for various conditions but granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD prior to November 27, 2023.