Knee Board decisions

The Board has decided that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is related to noise exposure in service and granted service connection. However, the right knee disability issue requires additional evidence due to a lack of complete service treatment records.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as service-connected due to herbicide exposure. The left knee injury and hepatitis disability are denied.

The Veteran's petition to reopen a previously denied claim for service connection for a left knee disability is granted. Service connection for arthritis of the left knee and right ankle are also granted.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of a right knee disorder, an enlarged prostate, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The claim for ischemic heart disease (coronary artery disease) is granted as presumptively associated with herbicide agent exposure.

The Board has restored the Veteran's disability ratings for arthritis of the right and left knees with joint instability, effective March 1, 2020. The evidence did not show improvement in knee instability that would be reasonably maintained under ordinary conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to outstanding service treatment and personnel records, specifically those related to the Veteran's service in the South Dakota National Guard. The decision does not address any specific conditions or theories of service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional VA examination to assess the severity of his left knee disability, including during flare-ups and repetitive use.

The Veteran's claim for earlier effective dates for his service-connected disabilities is dismissed as the earliest possible effective date, January 1, 2019, has already been assigned.

The Board has granted service connection for a left knee disability, diagnosed as degenerative joint disease (DJD), finding that the Veteran's service-connected low back disability proximately caused his left knee disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected left knee DJD, finding that the disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including lumbosacral strain, bilateral knee and hip conditions, prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the left knee is related to service, including as secondary to his service-connected Hodgkin’s disease.

The Veteran's left knee disability, including a meniscus tear, is rated at 10 percent. The appeal for an increased rating has been denied.

The Veteran's thoracic herniated disc condition was restored to a 40% rating, and he was granted service connection for left knee strain and right knee strain. Service connection for a right hip disorder (other than right hip pain associated with fibromyalgia) was denied.

The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for left knee and right knee disabilities due to insufficient development in previous decisions.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's left knee disability, finding that the evidence did not show flexion limited to 30 degrees or more, which would warrant a higher rating. The appeal was based on service connection theory.

The Veteran's service connection for right shin splints, left shin splints, and right knee arthritis was granted with an effective date of October 17, 2008.

The Veteran's service-connected left knee disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, warranting a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including back disability, left knee osteoarthritis, right knee osteoarthritis, postural tremor of the left hand, postural tremor of the right upper extremity, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and bipolar disorder, are being granted increased ratings. The Veteran is also granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the onset of the Veteran's bilateral knee disability during service or its relationship to his low back disability. The Veteran is asked to provide additional medical records and a VA examiner will be requested to address these issues.