Knee Board decisions

The Board has remanded the claims for increased ratings for right knee disabilities due to inadequate medical opinions and a need for additional information from the Veteran's representative.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral ankle degenerative joint disease and for his bilateral shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and neck disabilities due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for bilateral knee, left shoulder, left ankle, sinus, and chronic bronchitis disabilities due to insufficient medical opinions. The Veteran's chronic fatigue syndrome claim is also being remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral foot disability, sleep disorder (OSA), left ankle disability, and left knee disability due to incomplete development of the evidence.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a lack of adequate reasoning in not addressing the theory of service connection involving obesity as an intermediate step between the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and his claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's left knee instability is rated at a maximum of 20 percent prior to April 23, 2021. Beginning on that date, the Veteran is granted a 30 percent evaluation for his postoperative PCL and ACL.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's current right knee disability may be related to service, but a new medical opinion is needed due to an internal inconsistency in the previous opinion. The VA must obtain relevant VA treatment records and notify the Veteran of any inability to obtain them.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral knee disabilities have been denied. The Board found that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for an increased disability rating based on limitation of range of motion or instability, and thus a higher rating is not warranted.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee conditions due to new evidence being added to the record.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his right and left knee conditions due to the need for more contemporary evaluation and additional functional loss assessment during flare-ups.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current knee disabilities and his military service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for asthma, bilateral leg condition, and bilateral ankle condition due to new evidence submitted. However, the claim for service connection for a bilateral knee disability was not reopened as there was no new and material evidence provided.

The Board has found that there has not been substantial compliance with the August 2021 Board remand and has ordered further action to be taken on the appeals for higher ratings for service-connected ankle, knee, and hip disabilities. The AOJ is required to review the expanded record, including private examinations submitted by the Veteran's representative in December 2020, and any additional audiograms obtained.

The Board has determined that there have been substantial compliance issues with the previous remand directives and thus, the case is being returned to the VA for further development.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to an inadequate October 2019 VA examination, which did not include passive and non-weight-bearing range of motion testing. The Veteran's right knee disability is rated at 10%.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right and left knee disabilities due to a lack of a VA examination. The Veteran served in the military, including heavy infantry and field training.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and rating of a lumbar spine disability, bilateral hip disability, bilateral knee disability, and bilateral hearing loss due to new evidence showing diagnoses not present at previous denials.

The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting findings regarding the nature and severity of the Veteran's right knee instability. The Veteran will need a new VA examination to determine this.

The Veteran's PTSD was granted a 70% disability rating, and his right knee disability was denied an increased rating beyond the maximum available.

The Board has vacated its previous decisions on several service connection claims and remanded them for further review.