Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining private medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his right knee disability.

The Board is remanding the case for additional development, including obtaining STRs and a medical opinion regarding whether cold injury residuals from service contributed to the Veteran's death.

The Veteran died of malignant melanoma, a condition not service-connected. His death is not considered to be due to any service-connected disability.

The Board is requesting additional development to determine if the Veteran's left knee and lumbar spine disabilities are proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability, as well as whether these conditions have been caused by his service-connected right knee.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings are being remanded to the RO for further action.

The VA Chief Benefits Director denied an extraschedular rating for the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability due to the current ratings adequately compensating the degree of disability shown.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left knee and left ankle disorders are not proximately due to, the result of, or chronically aggravated by his service-connected chronic lumbar syndrome with degenerative disc disease.

The Veteran's arthritis of the right and left knees, claimed as grade II chondromalacia, was rated at a combined 10 percent from August 1, 2004 to February 10, 2009. Since February 11, 2009, he is entitled to separate 10 percent ratings for each knee.

The Veteran's right knee disability has been rated at 100 percent since June 9, 2005 due to the need for prosthetic replacement. The left knee disability is currently rated at 20 percent.,Since May 4, 2009, the Veteran's left knee disability has been rated at 30 percent.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic left knee disability during service and concluded that the current left knee strain is not related to military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to incomplete records and procedural issues. The claims for service connection are from the August 1980 and September 1980 rating decisions, which have not been finalized.

The Veteran's claim to reopen entitlement to service connection for a bilateral knee condition and the service connection claim on the merits have been considered. The claim is reopened, and service connection for a bilateral knee condition has been granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for her left and right knee patellofemoral syndrome, finding that the evidence did not warrant a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.

The Veteran's claim for specially adapted housing and special home adaptation grant is denied as he does not meet the criteria for a permanent and total service-connected disability rating, specifically loss of use of both lower extremities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional medical records from his VA Medical Center evaluation. The issue of entitlement to an increased rating for arthritis of the left knee remains pending.

The Veteran's claim for a temporary total evaluation based on need for convalescence following surgery is granted. The claims to reopen service connection for bilateral hip and knee conditions are denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's current low back, right shoulder, and right knee disorders did not have onset during his active service or are otherwise etiologically related to his active service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for further development, including an examination and notification compliance with Vazquez-Flores v. Peake.

The Board has found that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's left knee degenerative arthritis was chronically worsened by his service-connected right knee disability, and thus grants the claim for secondary service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ankle disorder is not related to service, and thus denied his claim for service connection. The earlier effective date issue remains pending.