Knee decisions — 2026

The Veteran's headaches, chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis (presumptive due to burn pit exposure), and bilateral knee disability are all granted. The effective dates for the grants vary based on when the conditions were presumed or diagnosed.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, a back condition, hair loss, a right wrist condition, scars, tinnitus, kidney problems, erectile dysfunction, and left knee condition have been dismissed as the Veteran did not file timely notices of disagreement.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not prevent him from obtaining or maintaining a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board denies his claim for TDIU.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence sufficient to readjudicate the previously denied claim for service connection for a right knee disability has been received. The AOJ should now consider secondary service connection in addition to the original claims.

The Board has granted service connection for a back disability, left knee disability, and obstructive sleep apnea. The Veteran's conditions are found to have manifested during active service and have been continuous since separation.

The Board has remanded the case due to errors in defining 'severe painful motion' and issues regarding a Baker's cyst.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability, finding that his current diagnosis of right knee strain is related to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left foot hammer toe and bilateral knees are remanded due to the need for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions, as well as their relationship to his military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a lack of competent medical evidence and because the VA examiner who provided the April 2024 VA examinations and opinions was challenged as not being qualified. The Veteran is also not yet afforded VA examinations for his claimed cervical spine and left shoulder disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his exposure to radiation and other medical conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability did not begin during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease, and it is not etiologically related to a service-connected condition. Therefore, the claim for service connection for a left knee disability is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee disabilities, finding that the Veteran's obesity, caused by her service-connected hypothyroidism, is an intermediate step between her service-connected condition and her current disability. The Board also found that her bilateral knee disabilities would not have occurred but for her obesity.

The Veteran is granted an effective date of July 24, 2023 for the award of a 100 percent disability rating for persistent depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, cocaine use disorder and cocaine induced psychotic disorder.,The Veteran is also granted an effective date of July 24, 2023 for the award of SMC based on housebound criteria.,However, the Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for right knee osteoarthritis with degenerative arthritis and painful motion prior to November 26, 2024 is denied.

The Veteran's left total knee replacement with left knee arthritis and scar, status post left knee arthroscopy, are granted a disability rating of 60 percent effective February 28, 2025.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee strain with arthritis and right knee strain with arthritis as secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus, finding that there was no medical nexus linking these disabilities to his service-connected pes planus.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for psychiatric disorder, right shoulder condition, and right knee condition due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Veteran's left ankle disability is rated at 10 percent, but the Board finds no evidence of more than a moderate limitation of motion.,The Veteran does not have hearing loss for VA compensation purposes.,The Veteran's right shoulder and knee disabilities are not related to service.,The Veteran's left knee and right knee disabilities are not related to service.

The Veteran's service connection claim for tinnitus was denied as there is no evidence of chronic tinnitus in service or within one year following separation. The Board found the Veteran's statements regarding onset and progression of tinnitus to be inconsistent, and thus not credible.,For the left knee disability, a rating in excess of 10 percent for limitation of flexion was denied as there is no evidence showing flexion limited to 30 degrees or less. A noncompensable rating for limitation of extension was also denied due to lack of evidence showing extension limited to 15 degrees or less.

The Board has dismissed the appeals of service connection for onychomycosis of the right and left toenails, right and left knee disabilities, and bilateral pes planus as they are part of a larger appeal docketed under Docket No. 250815-575950.

The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, bilateral knee disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded.