Knee Board decisions

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for left knee and low back conditions due to insufficient clinical evidence supporting opinions on causation or aggravation.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disorder, finding that his current knee disorders are not related to his in-service MCL strain and concluding that they are more likely age-related.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left knee and shoulder conditions due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran. The TDIU claim is also being remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with the other issues.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and his in-service injury. The Board concluded that the Veteran's current right knee disability was more likely related to his obesity and recent acute injury.

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for left and right knee disabilities due to insufficient development. The appellant's status as a veteran is unclear, and further examination and opinion are needed.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating have been remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his claimed conditions.

The Board has found that the Veteran's claims for service connection of right foot disorder, left foot disorder, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and bilateral hip disorder need further development due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have met the threshold schedular criteria for a TDIU prior to April 5, 2019. However, he has been able to secure and follow substantially gainful employment during this period.

The Board denied service connection for right knee, left knee, and lumbar spine disabilities due to a lack of evidence showing the conditions were incurred in or related to service.,Service records did not document any injuries or diseases involving the Veteran's knees or lower back during his active duty. The Veteran reported he did not seek treatment at the time because he needed to continue working on an aircraft carrier.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for scar, right knee was denied in a February 2012 rating decision. The Board found no new and material evidence to reopen the claim.,Initial ratings of 40 percent and 30 percent were denied for left breast cancer, status post mastectomy, and prophylactic right mastectomy respectively. The Veteran's scars associated with her bilateral mastectomies are rated at 10 percent.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for all issues related to cervical spine, lumbar spine, ulnar nerve compression, lateral femoral cutaneous nerve impairment of the left lower extremity, and right knee disabilities. The appeal for service connection for a right ankle disorder was also withdrawn.

The Veteran's lumbar strain disability is being remanded for further examination and rating. Other service connection claims are also being remanded due to the need for additional examinations.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating determinations due to inadequate medical opinions provided in prior VA examinations. The issues include lumbar spine, cervical spine, right hip, left hip, and right knee disabilities.

The Board has found that the VA did not substantially comply with its previous remand directives and thus these claims for service connection of left and right knee patellofemoral syndrome are being returned to the RO for additional development.

The Veteran's left knee disability is rated at a 10 percent rating for limitation of flexion and extension, with a separate 10 percent rating for symptomatic removal of semilunar cartilage. The appeal is granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability and oligospermia. For the right knee disability, the Board found that there was no evidence of a current disability or in-service incurrence or aggravation. For oligospermia, the Board found it first manifested during service.

The Board has determined that the issues of higher staged disability ratings for residuals of a right foot injury, service connection for a sinus disability and an eye infection, service connection for a low back disability, right hip disability, right knee disability, and PTSD, as well as TDIU are inextricably intertwined. Therefore, these matters have been remanded to allow for further development.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's right knee disability may be related to service, but needs further examination and evidence to determine if it is directly related or due to his service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's left leg condition, diagnosed as left knee tendonitis/tendinosis, is granted service connection. However, the right hip condition is denied due to lack of a confirmed diagnosis or symptoms.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial compensable rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss was denied, and the issue of service connection for a left knee disability is remanded.