Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his left knee disability. The TDIU claim is also being remanded.

The Veteran's sleep apnea, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, and lumbar spine disorder are all found to be related to his active service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for arthritis of the right knee, arthritis of the left knee, bilateral foot fungus, diabetes mellitus type II, and hypertension as these conditions are not related to his military service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected disabilities and for an earlier effective date for service connection for a chronic right knee strain.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the loss of his service records and need for additional research into his exposure to nuclear testing. The Veteran is also required to undergo VA examinations for his joint and foot conditions.

The Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks, depression, and chronic insomnia is rated at 100% effective April 5, 2012. Ratings for patellofemoral pain syndrome of the left and right knees are each rated at 10%. The Veteran's carpal tunnel syndromes have not been evaluated separately.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disability is not related to service or a service-connected condition, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him incapable of securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board finds that he is entitled to TDIU for the entire rating period on appeal.

The Veteran's right knee disability is rated at 30 percent for limitation of flexion since January 8, 2013. The claim for TDIU has been granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected disabilities, including degenerative joint disease of the left knee with laxity, right knee sprain, and bilateral shoulder sprains.

The Board has granted a disability rating of 20 percent for the Veteran's left knee disability, effective from the date of the decision.

The Board partially vacated its November 23, 2016 decision on the issues of increased ratings for right and left knee disabilities due to procedural errors.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral knee disabilities and service connection for a shoulder disability are being remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted a TDIU on an extra-schedular basis.

The Board has found that the evidence is in equipoise concerning the Veteran's claim for entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disability and therefore has granted the claim. The case is now remanded to determine if any of his remaining claimed disabilities are secondary to the service-connected left ankle disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability is proximately due to his service-connected right knee disorders, and thus grants service connection for this condition on a secondary basis.

The VA determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and specifically denied service connection on a direct basis. The Board found insufficient evidence to establish a causal nexus between the Veteran's cerebrospinal meningitis and his current knee condition.

The Veteran's right knee disability was rated at 30 percent from January 1, 2015 to April 10, 2017 and at 60 percent since April 11, 2017.

The Veteran's representative withdrew the issue of entitlement to service connection for residuals of a right knee injury with secondary right hip, foot, and ankle condition due to the establishment of service connection for these conditions in a previous rating decision.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain the Veteran's private treatment records and to provide him with VA examinations. The issues of entitlement to service connection for allergic rhinitis, left knee disability, hypertension, and sinusitis are being remanded.