Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's claims are being remanded due to a scheduling issue for a Travel Board hearing. The issues of entitlement to increased ratings for low back strain, right knee disability, and eczema remain in controversy.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated clinical records and arranging for a VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected cervical strain and right knee disability.

The Veteran's representative has argued that the Veteran's right knee disability may have had a direct causal origin in his active military service, particularly as it relates to repeated stresses experienced during parachute, infantry, and Army Ranger service. The claim is being remanded for further examination.

The Board has granted a 40 percent rating for the Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with left lower extremity weakness, effective from December 22, 2011. The appeal is also granted for service connection for arthritis of multiple joints as secondary to the low back disability and GERD.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and thus the case is dismissed.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for a certificate of eligibility for an automobile and adaptive equipment, specially adapted housing, or special home adaptation grant.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for low back strain with DDD, right knee sprain, and left knee sprain were denied as the evidence did not support a higher rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including osteoarthritis of the right knee, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment since March 30, 2011. As a result, he is granted a TDIU effective that date.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to maintain substantially gainful employment, and the Board grants a TDIU with a combined rating of 70 percent.

The Veteran's combined rating for his service-connected disabilities is 70%, which meets the schedular criteria for TDIU. However, the evidence does not support a finding that he is unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee osteoarthritis is not related to service and denied his claim for service connection. The issue of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral eye condition was remanded, but no supplemental statement of the case has been issued yet.

The Veteran's right knee disability, post-total knee replacement with surgical scar, is rated at 60 percent due to severe painful motion and weakness.

The Veteran is entitled to a TDIU since September 25, 2008 due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for service connection, except for fibromyalgia which may be presumed as having been sustained as a result of his service in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations.

The Veteran's appeal regarding an initial evaluation in excess of 20 percent for right knee anterior cruciate ligament tear with instability has been dismissed as he indicated satisfaction with the current disability rating.

The Board found that the Veteran's right knee and left leg disorders are not related to military service or his service-connected right leg varicose veins, thus denying these claims.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of any left knee and left hip conditions, including whether they are related to service. The Veteran's claims for service connection will be remanded for further action.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability as of May 2, 2012 due to his service-connected disabilities. The right knee disability and mood disorder with migraine headaches preclude him from obtaining substantial gainful employment.

The Board has determined that the September 1986 and November 1999 decisions denying service connection for left ear hearing loss, as well as the August 1999 decision denying service connection for hip disability, did not contain clear and unmistakable error (CUE). However, the September 1986 decision to deny service connection for knee disability contained CUE. As a result, the Board has reversed the denial of service connection for knee disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbosacral spine degenerative disc disease and joint disease is service-connected, with a grant of service connection. For his right knee patellofemoral chondromalacia, he was granted an initial rating of 10 percent.