Knee Board decisions

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of left ankle arthritis, right knee disability, and right hip disability as they are duplicates of other pending appeals. The Veteran's claim for service connection for atrophy of right lower extremity with weakness is granted due to his service-connected lumbar spine disability.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals regarding earlier effective dates and higher disability ratings for various conditions, including left hip arthritis, peripheral vascular disease, degenerative arthritis with lumbosacral strain, right knee arthritis, and ankle strain. The Board dismissed the appeal due to the withdrawal.

The Veteran's service connection claims for left knee, right knee, and low back conditions have been granted.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for entitlement to service connection for right knee degenerative arthritis and left knee degenerative arthritis due to a duty to assist error.

The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations of his left knee disability was denied. The Board found that the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent were not met for painful limitation of motion and instability throughout the appeal period.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as presumptively associated with herbicide exposure under the PACT Act.,Service connection for arthritis of the left shoulder, right shoulder, left knee, and right knee is granted.

The veteran withdrew their appeals for chronic low back pain and right knee pain, leading to the dismissal of these cases.

The appeal for an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD is dismissed. The Veteran's claim for a TDIU from May 1, 2017 is granted.

The Board has decided to remand the cases of lumbosacral strain and right knee injury/condition due to inadequate medical opinions in the original decision. The Veteran's claims will be reviewed again with a new VA examination.

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for left knee and low back injuries due to duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran's treatment records from a VA medical center in Delaware are missing, and an addendum opinion is needed regarding his low back injury.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate medical opinions provided prior to the June 2019 SOC. The VA must obtain addendum medical opinions addressing whether any currently diagnosed conditions are related to his in-service combat training and running with heavy equipment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus first manifested during service and is presumed to have been incurred therein. The claims for hearing loss, frostbite (lower left and lower right), hypertension, erectile dysfunction, and sleep apnea are remanded due to a failure of the AOJ to obtain relevant records.

The Board has dismissed all appeals related to the Veteran's claims for service connection and earlier effective dates, as the Veteran died during the pendency of these appeals.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for anxiety disability, headaches, right knee disability, and left knee disability have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeals.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU, and he is granted entitlement to a TDIU. The increased ratings for lumbosacral strain and right knee tendonitis are denied.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee degenerative arthritis with strain was denied. The Board also found that the Veteran's left ankle disability is not service connected.,The Veteran's left ankle disability, diagnosed as a strain, has been denied service connection due to lack of evidence of disease or injury during service.

The Veteran's service-connected back, neck, left shoulder, right knee, and left knee disabilities have been granted increased ratings from August 16, 2018. The highest rating of 40 percent has been granted for thoracolumbar strain with degenerative disc disease.

The Veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates for increased ratings on several service-connected conditions are dismissed as the claims were filed under a legacy system and not the AMA.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for a low back disorder and right knee disorder as caused by his service-connected left knee disability due to lack of new and relevant evidence.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to procedural errors and the need for additional medical examinations.