Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates for service connection of various conditions has been dismissed as the claims are final due to lack of timely appeal within one year of the October 2009 rating decision.

The Veteran's heart failure is rated at 60 percent, but no higher. The Board found the evidence persuasive against a finding of a current diagnosis for vertigo, voiding dysfunction, and chronic kidney disease.,Service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis was remanded due to inadequate VA medical opinion regarding secondary service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee, low back, and left shoulder disabilities due to a lack of current diagnoses or evidence of functional impairment.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for erectile dysfunction, ankle, elbow, hip, knee, shoulder, wrist, and back disabilities due to incomplete VA opinions. The Veteran is requested to undergo further examination to determine if these conditions are related to service.

The Board has denied service connection for anxiety, depression, bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, and left knee disability as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions in the record.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and an earlier effective date for service connection are being remanded due to inadequate examinations. The TDIU claim is also being remanded as the AOJ did not assist in its development.

The Board has granted service connection for right and left knee disabilities, as well as secondary right and left hip disabilities and a lumbar spine disability. The cervical spine condition claim was denied.,Service connection is also granted for bilateral hearing loss due to in-service hazardous noise exposure.

The Board has granted service connection for lumbar condition, left knee condition, LLE radiculopathy as secondary to service-connected lumbar condition, RLE radiculopathy as secondary to service-connected lumbar condition, and OSA as secondary to service-connected diabetes and orthopedic conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disability clearly and unmistakably pre-existed his service, and was not aggravated by his service. Therefore, the claim for service connection is denied.

The Board has denied service connection for left hip, low back, and bilateral knee disabilities. The Veteran's claim of service connection for left eye blindness is being remanded.,Service connection was not granted as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.

The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea, tinnitus, left knee disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability are all found to have onset during service.,Service connection is granted for these conditions.

The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, left knee disability, and chronic sinusitis due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or the in-service noise exposure. The Veteran's claims were remanded for further review.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and effective dates have been denied.,Effective date determinations were not provided as the decisions are in denial.

The reduction of the disability rating for headaches from 50% to 30% is not proper and is void ab initio. Effective dates are denied for various service connection claims.,Multiple issues related to initial disability ratings, effective dates, and earlier effective dates for higher ratings are remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, when considered together, did not cause him to be unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation prior to April 24, 2017.

The Board has granted service connection for left and right knee, left and right hip, and back conditions based on continuity of symptomatology since service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings for his right and left knee disabilities have been remanded due to the need for clarification of the extent and type of instability, as well as whether he requires prescription aids with ambulation.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for higher ratings and earlier effective dates due to duty-to-assist errors, including incomplete medical records and failure to obtain SSA and private chiropractic care records. The AOJ will request these records and schedule a new examination.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining complete STRs and military personnel records.

The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is related to his service-connected psychiatric disorders and knee strain, resulting in weight gain. The Board has granted service connection for OSA.