Knee decisions — 2025

The Board denied service connection for a headache disability, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, right knee disability, and left knee disability as the evidence did not support a finding of a current disability or a link to service.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied, and multiple claims for service connection were remanded due to missing or unavailable service treatment records.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and denied increased ratings for left and right foot pain, while remanding several other conditions for further consideration.

The Board remands all claims for further development and to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating for erectile dysfunction, service connection for hyperlipidemia, and whether new and relevant evidence has been submitted to readjudicate a claim for benign prostatic hypertrophy. The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea secondary to posttraumatic stress disorder.

The Board denied higher ratings for the Veteran's left and right knee osteoarthritis with limitation of flexion, as well as left and right lower extremity radiculopathy sciatic nerve, finding that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 10 percent or 20 percent respectively.

The appeals for compensable rating for headache disability, increased rating for right knee disability, and increased rating for lumbar spine disability were dismissed due to non-conformity with claims processing rules.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) from February 1, 2022.

The Board granted service connection for left shoulder tendonitis, lumbosacral strain, right ankle strain, and right knee strain based on evidence showing these conditions were incurred in-service.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including right knee, left and right hip, left and right shoulder, and left and right wrist disabilities, to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right knee disorders to obtain an additional medical opinion on whether these conditions are aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected ankle disorders.

The appeal for an earlier effective date for the establishment of service connection for various conditions associated with the right knee disability and a right ankle disability was dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his Notice of Disagreement.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability and a left knee disability as the evidence did not establish that these disabilities were incurred in or related to the Veteran's period of service.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for right knee, left knee, and right shoulder conditions due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Board denied the claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings for various disabilities.

The Board denied higher initial ratings for the left and right knee degenerative arthritis, but granted separate 10% ratings for instability of both knees. The claim for TDIU prior to February 27, 2017 was granted on an extraschedular basis.

The Board granted a disability rating of 50 percent for the service-connected tension headaches prior to January 12, 2024, and denied an increased rating in excess of 50 percent from that date. The Board also granted a disability rating of 60 percent for the left knee degenerative joint disease status post total knee replacement prior to March 7, 2022.

The claims for service connection for right shoulder disability and left knee disability were dismissed without prejudice due to the death of the Veteran.

The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for right and left knee disabilities, as well as a TDIU claim, due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual employability (TDIU) prior to June 14, 2021, as the evidence did not support a finding that his service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.