Knee Board decisions

The Board found no evidence linking the Veteran's current bilateral knee disabilities to his service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee and back conditions due to a lack of examination. The case will be returned for further development.

The Board found that the Veteran's left knee disorder existed prior to his entry into service and was not aggravated by active duty service. Therefore, it denied the claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the appellant's bilateral hip and knee disabilities are not related to service, and therefore denied his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected degenerative changes, left knee, including postoperative residuals of a total left knee replacement from July 1, 2007 to March 13, 2008 is currently rated at 30 percent.,From March 13, 2008, the Veteran's service-connected degenerative changes, left knee, including postoperative residuals of a total left knee replacement has been rated at 60 percent.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD and found new and material evidence. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, respiratory disorder associated with asbestos exposure, chronic left knee disorder, and chronic right knee disorder are denied as not shown during active duty or related to service. The appeal is granted on reopening of the PTSD claim.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including clarification of prior service and VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral knee disability is not etiologically related to service or a service-connected condition, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's left knee disability, including arthritis and joint degeneration, was not rated higher prior to August 21, 2008. From that date, the Veteran's left knee arthritis with limited flexion and extension were also not rated higher.

The Board found that the Veteran's knee and shoulder disabilities were not incurred or aggravated during service, are not secondary to other service-connected disability, and denied both claims.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on the merits have been dismissed due to withdrawal of his appeal.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied across multiple issues, including dermatitis, PTSD, hip and knee disabilities, muscle cramps, shoulder impingement, upper back condition, cervical spine syndrome (neck condition), low back disability, and ankle disability. The appeals are all now denied.

The Veteran's left knee patellofermoral arthritis, status post-patella realignment for dislocations, is manifested by X-ray evidence of patellofemoral arthritis with painful motion, weakened movement, and additional fatigability following repetitive testing. The flexion is limited to 70 degrees and extension is limited to 5 degrees, resulting in subjective complaints of pain, giving way, swelling, flare-ups, and tenderness without objective instability or subluxation. The Veteran's left knee does not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were granted, with a 10 percent evaluation assigned for cholecystectomy syndrome with GERD and diarrhea. The claim for tinnitus was also granted. Other claims remain pending.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including preparation of a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC), VA examination and stressor verification.

The Veteran's claims for rheumatoid arthritis, right knee disorder, left foot disorder, and left shoulder disorder were denied as there is no medical evidence showing current diagnoses or a link to service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a more current examination of her left knee disability and an assessment of her ability to work due to her service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected left knee instability and limited extension are currently rated at 30 percent and 20 percent, respectively. The claim for a TDIU is granted.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was granted effective from July 2, 2005. The effective date is earlier than August 19, 2005 as the evidence shows that his full-time employment ended prior to this date.

The Veteran's applications for Service Disabled Veterans life insurance (RH) were denied because they were not filed within the two-year period required by law, and there is no exception based on incompetency or otherwise.