Knee Board decisions

The Board has remanded this case for a Travel Board hearing at the Waco RO.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for various disabilities, finding that none were incurred or aggravated by his active duty service.

The Board has restored the Veteran's original 30 percent rating for his right knee disability, but denied an increased rating for his lumbar spine condition.

The Veteran's left knee disability, characterized by chondromalacia and arthritis, warrants a separate 10 percent rating for noncompensable limitation of motion with degenerative arthritis confirmed by x-ray. The Veteran does not warrant a higher rating for instability or an additional separate rating.

The Board has remanded the case due to a change in hearing officer, and you are entitled to another video-conference hearing before a VLJ at the earliest available opportunity.

The Veteran's claimed conditions, including degenerative changes and disc bulges of the lumbar spine, right foot disorder (degenerative joint disease), and right knee disorder (degenerative joint disease and deep vein thrombosis), were not shown to be related to service. The Board therefore denied these claims.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from performing substantially gainful employment consistent with his educational and vocational experiences.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected degenerative arthritis of the right knee with valgus deformity and tricompartment disease is being remanded to allow for a videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the RO in Los Angeles, California. The case will be returned to the Board after the hearing.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling examinations to determine if an allergy exists to hearing aids, and to evaluate the Veteran's current disabilities. The claims for service connection and extraschedular rating for bilateral hearing loss are also being remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased evaluation of his right knee disability. The Veteran appealed this decision to the Court, which vacated part of it but did not address whether new and material evidence had been received.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a VA examination during a period of flare up of knee symptoms and obtaining additional medical evidence. The Veteran's claim for TDIU is also raised.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and for further development. The claims of entitlement to initial compensable ratings for hypertension, as well as increased ratings for patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFS) of the right and left knees are pending.

The Veteran's right knee disability was rated at 10 percent from December 23, 2004, to February 21, 2005. The appeal for a higher rating is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed left wrist and left knee strains are not related to his military service, and therefore denied both claims.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a VA examination and updating records from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The Veteran's claim of entitlement to TDIU is currently pending.

The Veteran's right knee disorder is found to be secondary to his service-connected left knee disorder.,There is no evidence of a right foot disorder related to military service or a service connected disability. The Veteran's right ankle disorder was also examined and not diagnosed.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disability and gastrointestinal disorder are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and providing medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal involves multiple issues including increased disability ratings and service connection claims. The case is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records, scheduling VA examinations, and ensuring the examination reports comply with the directives of this remand.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for sarcoidosis and insect bites during a June 2012 Board hearing. The remaining issue of an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for Osgood-Schlatter disease of the right knee, status post surgery, with residual scar and osteoarthritis is being remanded.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence was received, allowing the Veteran's claim of secondary service connection for a right knee disorder to be reopened. The July 2011 VA examination report established a nexus between the Veteran's current osteoarthritis of the right knee and his service-connected left ankle lateral instability with history of multiple sprains.