Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to her death. The Board cannot proceed with the merits of this case as she is no longer alive.

The Veteran's left knee condition is being remanded for further examination and opinion to determine if it is aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional VA treatment records and to schedule a VA examination for his right ankle disability. The issues of increased ratings for bipolar disorder, knee osteoarthritis, and initial rating for the right ankle sprain are also pending.

The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability for VA purposes, and thus denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral high frequency sensorineural hearing loss. The issues of hypertension (claimed as secondary to diabetes), sleep apnea, and degenerative joint disease of the knees are remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board has granted service connection for chronic cough and assigned a 20 percent rating for the back disability. Other disabilities have been rated based on their specific criteria.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral knee disability, finding that his current conditions were not incurred or aggravated by active military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from securing or following any substantially gainful occupation, and the Board finds that he is entitled to a TDIU for the entire appeals period.

The Veteran's service-connected degenerative joint disease of the left knee was found to be manifested by, at worst, normal extension without objective evidence of painful motion and flexion limited to 50 degrees with objective evidence of painful motion. Therefore, a rating in excess of 10 percent prior to November 21, 2012 is not warranted.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 30 percent for the residuals of his left knee TKA from February 1, 2008 and in excess of 60 percent from April 21, 2012 has been granted. He is currently assigned a 60 percent disability rating effective April 21, 2012.

The Board has granted a 10 percent rating for right knee chondromalacia and left ankle sprain, effective prior to October 13, 2010.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and providing a supplemental medical opinion regarding the Veteran's left knee disability. The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is also to be examined to determine its current severity.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including new VA examinations and consideration of aggravation.

The Veteran's left knee disability was rated at 10% effective January 23, 2008.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for back, right knee, and left knee disabilities were denied. The claim to reopen a back disability was granted due to new evidence submitted subsequent to the appeal period.

The Veteran's left knee disability, following total knee arthroplasty, is rated at 30 percent from September 1, 2013 to April 20, 2015 and at 50 percent since April 21, 2015. The Board finds the current ratings are appropriate based on the evidence of record.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and consideration of new evidence.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further evidentiary development, including scheduling a videoconference hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant.