Knee decisions — 2025

The Board remands the matters of whether new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudication of the issues of service connection for a back disability, neck disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, right wrist disability, and tinnitus.

The Board granted readjudication of the claim for service connection for right shoulder disability and denied increased ratings for various knee disabilities, radiculopathy, GERD, and MDD.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including abnormal PSA, cerebral vascular accident, diabetes mellitus Type II, hypertension, iron deficiency anemia, peripheral arterial disease, left knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and left leg sciatic radicular pain, as the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.

The Board dismissed the claims for an earlier effective date for special monthly compensation and service connection for right knee, left knee, low back, and right elbow disabilities due to a concurrent election issue.

The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran not filing a Notice of Disagreement within one year of receiving notice of the respective decisions, and no good cause for extending the time limit was shown.

The Board granted service connection for right and left knee instability, but remanded the claims for initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for the knees.

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and denied increased ratings for various disabilities including back, lower extremity radiculopathy, knee, facial scar, pseudofolliculitis barbae, and erectile dysfunction.

The Board granted service connection for a right knee disability, finding that the Veteran's pre-existing condition was aggravated during active service.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability as there was no evidence of an injury during active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA. The other claims were remanded to correct a duty to assist error.

The Board denied service connection for the veteran's heart disability, hypothyroidism, and skeletal arthritis of entire joint system. The lower back, bilateral hip, and bilateral knee disabilities were remanded for further development.

The Board granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy and sinusitis, and increased the ratings for a left knee disability to 20 percent, a back disability (lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with degenerative joint disease) to 40 percent, and a right shoulder disability to 40 percent.

The Board granted service connection for right hip and right knee disabilities, effective September 19, 2022.

The Board dismissed the appeal for chronic bronchitis as untimely and denied service connection for various other conditions including a left ankle disorder, asthma, shoulder disorder, chest disorder, foot disorder, GI disorder, hand disorder, knee disorder, and neck disorder due to lack of evidence supporting their direct relation to service.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including right shoulder disorder, right shoulder painful scar, left shoulder disorder, right ankle disorder, left knee disorder, and right leg atrophy and muscle deterioration in calf, quad, hamstring, as new VA etiology opinions are needed to address the nature and etiology of these conditions.

The Board dismissed the claims for increased ratings and denied a compensable rating for right shoulder scars, while remanding several other issues including service connection for a right hand disorder.

The Board denied an increased rating for degenerative joint disease of the left knee based on flexion, but granted a separate 30 percent rating for limitation of extension. The Board also denied an increased rating for PTSD and a compensable rating for a left knee scar.

The Board remands the claims for further development and to ensure compliance with VA's duty to assist.

The appeal was dismissed for tinnitus, and service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss, a low back condition, an upper back condition, right ankle, left ankle, right knee, left knee, and bilateral foot conditions.

The Board remands the matter to obtain a new VA medical opinion regarding the severity of the left knee DJD without the ameliorative effects of medication during the limited appeal period.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities and lumbar spine disability, but granted a 20 percent rating for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with spinal stenosis from April 4, 2017 to July 13, 2020.