Knee Board decisions

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than March 1, 2010 for the grant of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to determine the etiology of his COPD and service connection claims.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate rationale in a July 2016 VA opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected peripheral arterial disease and his left knee disorder. The case is now pending for an addendum opinion from the same or another VA examiner.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right and left knee disabilities are being remanded due to the need for further development, including scheduling a VA examination.

The Board denied service connection for gallstones and gallbladder removal, gastrointestinal disorder including hemorrhoids, GERD, hiatal hernia, IBS (to include as secondary to PTSD), multiple joint pain, OSA (to include as secondary to PTSD).

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, hepatitis (claimed as liver disorder), lung disorder, heart disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, left shoulder disorder, right knee disorder, and left knee disorder. The decision found no evidence to support a direct relationship between these conditions and service.

The Veteran's post-operative residuals of a total right knee replacement have been rated at 30 percent since November 1, 2013. The current evidence does not support an increase in the rating.

The Board found that the Veteran's left knee disability was not incurred in service and is not related to his service-connected lumbar spine disability. The claim for secondary service connection was denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities were denied due to his failure to report for scheduled VA examinations. The claim is now denied.

The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his left knee disability and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal for higher ratings for his right knee disability and service connection for gout was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating higher than 10 percent for limitation of motion or instability from November 1, 2007 to March 15, 2012.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for extraschedular ratings for total left knee arthroplasty and left knee surgical scar, finding that the symptoms are already accounted for by the assigned schedular ratings.

The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his right knee disability and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination.

The Veteran was not found to be permanently and totally disabled due to nonservice-connected disabilities from August 22, 2007, to September 29, 2016.

For the entire period on appeal, the medical evidence of record indicates that there is painful motion in the Veteran's right knee but no compensable limitation of flexion or extension. The Board concludes that the criteria for an evaluation higher than 10 percent have not been met.

The Board found that the Veteran's hepatitis C was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and denied his claims for higher ratings for his acquired psychiatric disorder and foot disabilities. The TDIU claim was also denied as it pertained to a period prior to September 24, 2010.

The claims for right knee and left knee disabilities, as well as the psychiatric disability claim have been denied due to lack of new and material evidence.,The back disability claim has been reopened but remains denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's claimed disabilities, including cervical spine, low back, knee, and foot conditions, are not service-connected due to lack of evidence showing a nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right lower extremity disability, including his service-connected right knee disability and other aspects of the limb, does not meet the criteria for a higher rate of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on loss of use.