Knee Board decisions

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left shoulder or arm disability, left knee or leg disability, right knee or leg disability, left foot disability, and right foot disability due to insufficient evidence in the record.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disability, COPD, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including depressive disorder and PTSD) has been granted. The issues of service connection for COPD and the acquired psychiatric disorder have been remanded.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for prostate cancer and right knee disorder due to insufficient evidence. The claim for hearing loss is also remanded, but the decision on whether it was incurred in service remains pending.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic condition in service or within one year following discharge. The Board also found that any current knee conditions were not related to service.

The Veteran's right knee disability, including arthritis and instability, is currently rated at 20 percent for a meniscal condition. The appeal is granted for this issue.

The Board denied higher initial disability ratings for various conditions, including right knee chondromalacia patella, right shoulder disorder, right wrist disorder, left ankle disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, bladder cancer, ulcerative colitis, Bell's palsy, stroke residuals, hair loss, and skin disorder.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip disability, prostate disability, and bilateral knee disability. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by active military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disability and an acquired psychiatric disability, finding that there was no evidence of chronic left knee or psychiatric conditions during service or within one year after separation. The VA examinations did not support a direct relationship between these disabilities and service.,The Board also found insufficient evidence to establish secondary service connection for the psychiatric disability due to service-connected back and knee disabilities.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and left knee retropatellar pain syndrome with patella femoral tendonitis due to the need for additional examinations to determine their current severity.

The Veteran's right knee disability is currently rated at 10 percent, and the issues regarding left knee instability are also denied. The Board found no evidence of instability or other conditions that would warrant a higher rating.

The Board denied higher ratings for right knee instability prior to August 10, 2010 and partial right knee replacement residuals from August 10, 2011 to February 2, 2018.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a penile condition and headaches have been dismissed. The appeal for the neck disability, left knee disability, right knee disability evaluation, and TDIU has been remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to his physical impairments, which prevent him from performing the required tasks in a warehouse job.

The reduction of the Veteran’s disability rating for left knee disability from 40 percent to 10 percent effective January 1, 2020 was proper. The reduction of the disability rating for left knee subluxation from 10 percent to 0 percent effective January 1, 2020 was improper.

The Veteran's claims for arthritis, right knee; chondromalacia, Baker’s cyst, and possible fibroma, left knee; slipped discs of the spine (cervical and thoracolumbar); depression; and hypertension have been granted.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his service-connected back disability, right and left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathies, and right and left knee strains were denied as a matter of law due to the Veteran's failure to report for required VA examinations without showing good cause.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's right knee disability is related to her service-connected left knee disability and remands for further examination.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the criteria provided in the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence supports readjudicating the claims for service connection for right knee osteoarthritis and left foot hammer toes and first MTP osteoarthritis. The Veteran's recent grant of service connection for left knee osteoarthritis in an August 2019 rating decision may support his secondary service connection claims.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied as his hip and knee disabilities did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings under applicable diagnostic codes. The RO assigned separate ratings based on different issues, but the Board found that a single rating of 30 percent was more favorable than separate ratings.