Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine the etiology of his lumbar spine, cervical spine, bilateral knee, and hearing loss disabilities.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right little finger disability, right knee disability, and benign hyperplasia of the prostate. The appeals were decided on the merits as no presumptive or secondary theories of service connection applied.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for hemorrhoids, duodenal bulb spasticity, and left varicocele have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeal concerning these issues prior to a decision being made.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee osteoarthritis and right ankle disability status total ankle arthroplasty, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his period of service. The initial ratings assigned were also upheld.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not shown to have manifested during service or within one year of separation, and a continuity of symptoms after discharge from active service has not been established.,There is no competent evidence of a diagnosed left knee disability. The Veteran reported pain in the left knee but there are no records indicating any chronic condition.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities and finds that, due to the relative equipoise of evidence, the Veteran's current bilateral knee disability is more likely than not related to his period of active duty.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as of April 11, 2008, and therefore grants an earlier effective date for TDIU.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals regarding the issues of service connection for a back disability, a higher initial rating for right knee surgical scar, increased ratings for degenerative joint disease of the right knee, residuals of a right knee meniscal injury, instability of the right knee, and degenerative joint disease of the left knee, and a TDIU.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection of back, left knee, PTSD, anxiety disorder, right shoulder disability, and hypertension as secondary to diabetes mellitus. The underlying issues are addressed in the remand section.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the etiology of the Veteran's left knee disorders, right knee disorder, and low back disorder. The case will be remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's right knee disability does not meet the criteria for a higher rating, as his flexion is limited to more than 30 degrees and extension is limited to less than 5 degrees. The current 10 percent rating remains in effect.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right knee and low back disabilities are not service connected, as they did not manifest during or within one year after service separation. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that these conditions were caused by his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to incomplete medical opinions and further development is required.

The Board has restored the original disability rating of 20 percent for osteochondritis dissecans of the right knee based on limitation of flexion, effective January 1, 2011. The Veteran's condition was previously rated at 10 percent prior to that date and a separate 10 percent rating for extension has been assigned since September 16, 2010. The Board also granted a 10 percent disability rating for instability effective from January 22, 2010 to July 31, 2013.

The Board has granted service connection for major depressive disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability. The reduction of the 100 percent rating for the right knee disability was found not improper.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral knee disability is not related to service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and a TDIU were granted. The Veteran was assigned a 30 percent rating for posttraumatic headaches, separate 10 percent ratings for right knee arthritis and left knee arthritis as of September 22, 2008, and an initial 10 percent rating for right ankle arthritis with a chronic tear of the anterior ligament. The Veteran was also granted TDIU.

The Veteran's claims of entitlement to initial compensable ratings for bilateral hearing loss, service connection for sleep apnea, and left knee disability were denied. The claim for service connection for a bilateral elbow disability was not addressed as it is considered outside the scope of this appeal.

The Veteran's service-connected right and left knee disabilities have been rated at 10 percent each, effective October 20, 2008. The Board found that higher ratings were not warranted under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right hip disability, claimed as secondary to service-connected orthopedic disabilities. The December 2014 VA medical opinion constitutes probative evidence against the Veteran's claim.