Knee Board decisions

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including sickle cell trait, lumbar spine disorder, kidney disorder, pancreas disorder, bilateral hip disorder, and bilateral arm and shoulder disorders. The decision found that the Veteran did not have current disabilities related to these conditions incurred or aggravated by active service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected right and left knee disabilities are currently rated at 20 percent, but have now been found to warrant a higher rating of 30 percent for both knees as of September 1, 2010.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected conditions did not cause or contribute substantially to his death from congestive heart failure.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and consideration of his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, including knee disabilities. The case will be referred to the Director of the VA Compensation and Pension Service for extra-schedular consideration.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed disabilities were not incurred or aggravated during his periods of active duty service, including his periods of ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA in the Air Force Reserve from 1977 to 1993. The claims are therefore denied.

The Veteran's residual left knee disability is found to be the result of a delay in physical therapy following his July 2006 total knee replacement, which was not due to negligence on VA's part but rather an unforeseeable event (GI bleed). The Board finds that the criteria for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 have been met.

The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence does not support service connection for a back disability, bilateral knee disability, or bilateral ankle disability incurred during active military service.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities for further development, including providing the Veteran with notice and a VA examination to address his employability.

The Veteran's service-connected right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy is rated at 30 percent prior to June 24, 2010 and increased to 30 percent effective from that date. The Veteran also has a separate rating for postoperative right mid shaft ulna fracture.

The Veteran seeks compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for right below-the-knee amputation resulting from substandard care and treatment by VA between November 2005 and January 2006. The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an independent medical opinion and review the claims folder.

The Board has determined that service connection for arthritis of the left knee is established as it is at least as likely as not related to an injury sustained during military service.

The Veteran's low back disability, arthritis of the left hip, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, left ankle tendonitis, and left elbow bursitis have been granted service connection. The scar from shell fragment wounds and residuals of a shell fragment wound to the left elbow also have been granted service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current skin disability was incurred during active military service, and he is granted service connection for this condition. The Veteran's service-connected patellofemoral syndrome affecting both knees and partial urethral obstruction are each rated as noncompensable (zero percent) under applicable rating criteria.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO in Columbia, South Carolina for scheduling a Board videoconference hearing. The issues of entitlement to increased disability ratings for right and left knee disorders are pending.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disability, including degenerative arthritis of the left knee with tear of the medial meniscus, was denied as there is no persuasive evidence to support a finding that any current left knee disability is related to his military service.

The Veteran's right knee disability is manifested by complaints of pain, instability, inability to walk more than a mile or stand for long periods, occasional use of a cane and a knee brace. The RO determined that the Veteran's right knee deserves a higher evaluation based on limited flexion to 125 degrees with pain.

The Veteran's bilateral eye disability and right knee injury with DJD were not granted service connection, but his right knee injury was granted an increased rating to 20 percent.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current low back disorder, bilateral knee or ankle disorders, left foot disorder, stomach disorder, or headache disorder that is related to his military service. Service connection for these conditions is therefore denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's arthralgia of the bilateral hips, knees and ankles due to recurrent sprains is at least as likely as not related to his period of active service. Service connection for this condition is granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his cervical spine and left knee disabilities, finding that the schedular criteria did not meet the requirements for higher initial disability ratings.