Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding his service-connected skin condition and right knee disability.

The Veteran's gout of the bilateral feet, ankles, knees, toes, elbows, hands and wrists is rated at 100 percent throughout the appeal period.,The Veteran's migraine headaches are rated at 50 percent throughout the appeal period.

The Board has granted service connection for cervical spine degenerative disc disease with intervertebral disc syndrome, right knee disability, and sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have prevented him from obtaining and maintaining substantial gainful employment prior to December 16, 2021. As of December 16, 2021, the Veteran is in receipt of a combined 100 percent disability rating for his service-connected disabilities, rendering the TDIU claim moot.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional examinations and evaluations to determine the severity of his service-connected back disability, knee disabilities, and any meniscal conditions. The Veteran will also be provided separate ratings for right and left knee instability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his back and left knee conditions, do not preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection of thoracolumbar spine, cervical spine, and right knee disabilities due to a lack of information about an in-service fall on an airplane ramp. The AOJ must make appropriate efforts to obtain any available incident report.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension and right knee disability, finding no evidence of a nexus between his current conditions and military service or any service-connected condition.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for updated examinations, clarification of instability in his right knee, and obtaining VA treatment records.

The Board has remanded the claims for increased ratings for right hip and left knee disabilities due to additional development being required.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development and lack of a nexus opinion regarding the Veteran's right knee disability. The examiner must consider the Veteran's reports of heavy lifting during service and provide an opinion on whether his current knee disability is at least as likely as not related to service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new evidence received since the last decision in December 2018.

The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection of a cervical spine disability was denied. The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted, thus denying the reopening of the claim. The issues of entitlement to increased ratings for right knee and ankle disabilities, as well as an initial compensable rating for a left knee surgical scar, are remanded.

The Veteran's claims for PTSD, migraine headaches, back disability, arthritis of unspecified joints to include left knee disability, residuals of injury to the left and right toes, IBS, and hypertension have been remanded due to incomplete service records and need further examination.

The Veteran's appeal for increased disability ratings for his left knee disabilities is remanded due to the need for a VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension was denied in July 2004, and new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claim. The effective date of service connection for thoracolumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, right shoulder disability, and left lower extremity radiculopathy is set at July 21, 2011.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for psoriasis, GERD, chronic sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and right knee disability are denied. The effective date of service connection for presbyopia with hypermetropia, astigmatism, and pinguecula is set at July 21, 2011.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating of his left knee, left foot, and right ankle disabilities due to inadequate opinions from previous VA examiners. The Veteran's left knee and left foot disabilities are related to in-service injuries, but the right ankle disability is not clearly linked to service.

The Veteran's appeal is denied as the evidence does not support higher ratings for his thoracic disability, coccydynia, right knee chondromalacia patella, right wrist CTS, left wrist CTS, and related fingers. Service connection was also denied.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, left knee condition, and right knee condition are all related to his military service. The claims for PTSD and the bilateral knee conditions have been remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disability was previously granted in an October 2022 rating decision. The Board has dismissed this issue as the full benefit sought (service connection) has been granted.