Knee Board decisions

The Board has granted service connection for a right knee sprain and found that the Veteran's claim of service connection for a left ankle disability was first received on June 4, 2009. The effective date for this service connection is set at June 4, 2009. However, the Veteran contends that his initial rating of 10 percent for his left ankle disability is inadequate and requests a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his condition.

The Board has remanded the case for scheduling a hearing and providing a statement of the case regarding the issue of service connection for diabetes mellitus, as due to herbicide exposure.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a cold weather injury. The Veteran's scar of the right knee is currently rated as noncompensable.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence of current disability severity and a need for additional examinations.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee disability and a temporary total rating for convalescence following his November 2011 surgery. The claim to reopen was also granted.

The Veteran's headaches have been granted a 50% rating effective June 24, 2014. He also received increased ratings for PTSD and bilateral knee instability from July 17, 2014. The RO has awarded him a TDIU prior to July 17, 2014.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service treatment records and requests for further efforts to locate all available in-service hospitalization records from Ellsworth Air Force Base.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining his prison medical records and determining if he completed airborne training.

The Veteran's left knee disability was rated at 10 percent prior to January 20, 2015 due to painful range of motion. The current rating is consistent with the symptoms and does not warrant a higher rating.

The Veteran requested to withdraw his appeal regarding the rating for a painful right knee ganglionectomy scar prior to December 28, 2011.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for left knee DJD was denied. The issues of service connection for right shoulder pain, right and left ankle disabilities, and a left leg disability were also addressed but the decision is not clear on whether these claims are granted or denied.

The Veteran's claims for higher evaluations and service connection were denied. The maximum schedular rating of 20 percent was upheld for the left ankle disability, as there is no evidence of ankylosis or other manifestations warranting a higher evaluation.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings and service connection have been denied. The Board has not yet issued a statement of the case on the issues of entitlement to earlier effective dates for lumbar spine and cervical spine disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his left knee disability was denied, as the evidence did not show any additional limitation in range of motion or instability beyond what is contemplated by a 10% rating. The service connection claim for low back disability was also denied due to lack of probative evidence linking it to service.

The Board has remanded the case for a new examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected right knee and left knee conditions, as well as her ability to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment due to these disabilities. The case will be returned to the Board after the examination.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have been shown to prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment, warranting a TDIU.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee osteoarthritis with patellofemoral chondromalacia, status-post surgeries, is related to her military service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability related to service for which he can be granted service connection. The preponderance of evidence is against his claim.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic disability in service and insufficient continuity of symptomatology to establish service connection for the Veteran's claimed disabilities.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.