Knee Board decisions

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for a neck disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and psychiatric disorder. The claim for left knee arthritis and instability is pending.

The Veteran's right knee disorder has been evaluated as status-post right knee meniscectomy with degenerative arthritis, resulting in a 10 percent disability rating. The appeal is denied as the current symptoms do not warrant an increased rating.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining current VA treatment records and scheduling a new VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, aortic aneurism, PTSD, and other disabilities have been denied as the evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to his military service.

The Board has ordered additional development due to the need for personnel records, VA treatment records, and TRICARE healthcare insurance records. The case will be remanded for these actions.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and providing a supplemental opinion from an examiner regarding whether the Veteran's left knee disability was aggravated by his service-connected thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease or lower extremity sciatica.

The Veteran's appeals have been dismissed as he has withdrawn his appeal.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to inconsistencies in the medical evidence and the Veteran's missed VA examination.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (including PTSD, bilateral knee disabilities) have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation prior to August 14, 2015. After that date, his combined disability rating was sufficient for TDIU.

The Board found that the Veteran's current left knee disability is not service-connected, as there was no evidence of a pre-existing injury or chronic condition during service. The most recent VA examination did not find clear and unmistakable evidence of a preexisting condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including issuance of a Statement of the Case and consideration of additional evidence. The lumbar spine claim will be reviewed by a VA examiner to determine if it was caused or aggravated by service-connected knee disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were granted. Service connection was established for migraine headaches, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, and low back disability. The Veteran received a 100% rating for her left knee patellofemoral syndrome effective from April 6, 2011.

The Board found that the Veteran's right knee arthritis did not pre-exist service and was not aggravated by service, thus denying his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's right and left knee degenerative joint disease have been rated at the maximum allowable under Diagnostic Code 5260, with no additional disability found. The claims for increased ratings are therefore denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether his conditions preclude such employment.

The Board has remanded the case for consideration of new evidence submitted by the Veteran, including a June 2016 VHA opinion. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left hip disorder secondary to his service-connected left knee disorder is being reconsidered.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability, finding that the Veteran does not currently have or has never had a chronic right lower extremity disability.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeal for a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative changes of the left knee, and thus the case is dismissed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's appeals regarding increased ratings for lumbar myositis, tarsal tunnel syndrome, and right lower extremity radiculopathy have been withdrawn. The claims of service connection for bilateral ankle disabilities, bilateral knee disabilities, kidney disability, sleep problems, bilateral elbow disabilities, and bilateral hand disabilities were denied as there is no evidence that any such conditions were incurred or aggravated during active service.

The Veteran's claim for TDIU prior to May 11, 2015 is being remanded due to the need for additional development and consideration of extraschedular TDIU.