Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's left knee disability, rated at 60 percent since October 1, 2015, has rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from September 1, 2017.

The Board has granted service connection for cervical spine, lumbar spine, bilateral hip, and bilateral knee disabilities. The Veteran's bilateral ankle disability is denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities and bilateral hearing loss disability due to incomplete records and need for further examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left and right knee disabilities have been denied. The 10 percent rating assigned for each knee is the maximum allowed under applicable VA rating criteria.

The Veteran's right knee disability is related to his active duty service, but a VA examination is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the condition.

The Veteran's right knee disability is granted service connection as it occurred during a period of inactive duty for training. The lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis issue is remanded due to insufficient medical opinions.

The Veteran's right knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and sleep disorder are not service-connected.,The Board found no evidence of current disabilities related to the Veteran's military service for these conditions.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the right knee condition, right leg injury, sleep apnea, hearing loss, and PTSD rating. The appeal is dismissed.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for arthralgia of the bilateral knees, hypertension (to include as secondary to PTSD), and chronic headaches due to inadequate compliance with previous remand orders.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU, but his unemployability is due to his service-connected conditions. The Board finds that referral to the Director of Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration of a TDIU is warranted.

The Veteran's cause of death was liver cancer, which is not service-connected. The Veteran did not have the required wartime service for nonservice-connected death pension benefits.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including abdominal adhesions and knee strains, combine to meet the criteria for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service connection claims for arthritis of the right distal interphalangeal joint, degenerative joint and disc disease of the lumbar spine, degenerative arthritis of the right knee, and depression have all been granted. The Board has found that these conditions are related to his active duty service.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted service connection and a rating of 10 percent for his right knee internal derangement status post meniscectomy is denied.

The Veteran's right knee disability, including limitation of motion and instability, was denied higher ratings from November 2, 2010 to April 1, 2014. Effective April 1, 2014, the rating for a total right knee replacement was also denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased rating of right knee instability and service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of moderate recurrent subluxation or lateral instability, and that there was no diagnosed illness of chronic fatigue syndrome.

The Veteran's left knee disability is not rated higher than 10 percent due to lack of x-ray evidence of involvement in two or more major joints with occasional incapacitating exacerbations. The case has been remanded for further evaluation and consideration of TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's left and right knee patellofemoral pain disabilities are each rated at a 10 percent evaluation, effective from the date of the May 2014 rating decision.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, finding that these conditions are related to his active military service.

The Veteran's right knee instability, strain, and scars are rated at 10 percent each. The combined rating is less than the minimum required for TDIU (60% or more disability).