Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's right carpal tunnel syndrome was granted a higher rating of 30 percent effective August 20, 2016. The other issues remain in appellate status.

The Board has determined that the appellant's current left knee tricompartmental osteoarthris and right knee tricompartmental osteoarthritis are related to service, with the right knee disorder being aggravated by his now service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including an updated VA examination to assess the severity of his left knee disability.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on the issues of left wrist, hand, knee, ankle, and foot disabilities have been dismissed as he withdrew these claims in November 2015. The right hand disability (diagnosed as degenerative joint disease) has been granted service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus, bilateral knee conditions (left and right), left ankle condition, and hypertension are all service-connected based on direct evidence.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a left varicocele has been withdrawn. The Board finds in favor of the Veteran on his claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the condition had its onset during active duty.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches due to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss has been denied. The Board found no evidence linking the current headaches to the service-connected hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling VA examinations to address his claims.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings and reopening service connection have been denied. The Board found that new evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim or was cumulative of previously submitted evidence.

The Board has granted an increased rating of 10 percent for the Veteran's service-connected right knee disabilities, effective from January 29, 2010.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his cervical spine, right shoulder, right knee, and left knee disabilities were denied. The current ratings of 20 percent each are maintained.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a right knee disorder, left ear hearing loss, and tinnitus due to additional development being required.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left tibial fracture, status post ORIF with retained hardware, does not meet the criteria for a compensable initial evaluation.

The Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities have been rated based on limitation of motion, with no higher rating available due to the absence of compensable range of motion loss. The Veteran's lumbar spine disability has not resulted in ankylosis or favorable ankylosis, and thus a 40 percent rating is not warranted.,The Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities have been rated based on limitation of motion, with no higher rating available due to the absence of compensable range of motion loss. The Veteran's lumbar spine disability has resulted in forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine of 30 degrees or less at times, warranting a 40 percent rating.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and earlier effective dates for left ankle DJD and left knee DJD, as well as the claim for a TDIU rating were dismissed due to his death.

The Veteran's arthritis of the bilateral knees was found to have manifested within one year of his separation from active service, and is presumed to be related to service. The Veteran's depressive disorder NOS and left ear hearing loss were not granted increased ratings.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and for a new VA examination due to the passage of time since his last VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn by his representative, and the Board is dismissing the appeal.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee condition and granted the underlying claim, finding that there is sufficient evidence to support a direct relationship between his military duties as a paratrooper and his current left knee disability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities preclude him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment for which he would otherwise be qualified.