Knee Board decisions

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for right knee degenerative changes and left knee strain due to inadequate medical opinions in her case. The Veteran will need a new VA examination to determine if these conditions are related to her military service.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, breathing-related disability, and lower back disability are granted. The Veteran is denied for higher initial ratings or earlier effective dates for her service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The remaining issues on appeal are remanded for further examination and development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability and rating for bilateral hearing loss due to insufficient medical opinions and missing treatment records. The Veteran is also asked to provide additional private treatment records from Dr. Boone and Dr. Mittal, as well as VA treatment records.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hip and knee disorders, as they are related to service-connected disabilities. The Veteran is required to undergo VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of any diagnosed left hip, right hip, left knee, and/or right knee disorder.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left knee laxity, left leg neuroma, and TDIU due to inadequate VA examinations and missing medical records.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for various knee, back, cervical spine, and ankle disabilities were denied. The Veteran's service-connected conditions are rated based on their current functional impairment without considering any presumptive or secondary theories of service connection.

The Board dismissed the appeal as the December 16, 2011 notice of disagreement was not timely filed and found that there are no remaining questions of fact or law to be decided for the issues of whether an NOD received on December 16, 2011 was timely filed as to a March 2010 rating decision assigning an effective date of May 18, 2009 for the grant of service connection for left knee flexion and the grant of an increased rating to 20 percent for left knee impairment.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to incomplete records and the need for further examination. The claims will be reconsidered after obtaining additional medical records and verifying stressful events during service.

The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to determine the nature and etiology of various disabilities, including PTSD, right hand/wrist disability, lumbar spine condition, left knee disability, right knee disability, left foot disability, right foot disability, bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus, and pseudofolliculitis barbae. The Board has also determined that verification of the Veteran's in-service stressors is needed.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine, bilateral knees, and bilateral feet due to inadequate examinations in previous decisions.

The Board has remanded several issues for further development, including service connection for a right knee sprain and an evaluation higher than 20 percent for left shoulder rotator cuff tear. The hypertension claim is denied as new and material evidence was not submitted.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is denied as he does not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD under DSM-V.,The Veteran's bilateral patellofemoral syndrome of the knees, left Achilles tendonitis, left elbow olecranon bursitis with spur, and right shoulder impingement with degenerative joint disease are all rated at 10 percent each.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on multiple conditions have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of all appeals.

The Board denied service connection for left ankle, bilateral knee, and bilateral foot disorders due to a lack of medical evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.

The Board has remanded the cases due to incomplete records from Social Security Administration and worker's compensation claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's knee, ear hearing loss, tinnitus, cardiac disability, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and carpal tunnel disabilities may be related to service. However, due to lack of medical evidence on record regarding these claims, the case is being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied. The highest schedular rating of 60% was granted for neurodermatitis, but no other condition received a positive decision.

The Board has dismissed the appeal of the issue regarding an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus. The Veteran's vertigo disability is granted with a 30 percent rating. The remaining issues, including low back and left knee disabilities, migraines, right ear hearing loss, and left ear hearing loss, are remanded for further evaluation.

The Veteran's left knee disability was rated as noncompensable prior to November 15, 2016 and in excess of 10 percent thereafter.,The Veteran's right knee disability was rated as noncompensable prior to November 15, 2016 and in excess of 10 percent thereafter. The Veteran also had a limitation of extension for the period beginning on November 18, 2016.