Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further evidentiary development, including scheduling a VA examination to assess the current nature and severity of his service-connected knee disabilities.

The Veteran's left knee degenerative joint disease is rated at 60 percent effective November 1, 2008. The previous rating of 30 percent for the period beginning November 1, 2008 has been granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 were denied, while his claim to reopen a low back disability was not considered due to lack of evidence.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a right hip disability, left hip disability, right knee disability, or left knee disability that is attributable to military service.

The Veteran's service-connected right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome are currently manifested by mild tenderness, crepitus, and subjective complaints of pain with essentially normal clinical findings. The RO has assigned initial noncompensable evaluations for these conditions.

The appellant withdrew his appeal for the claims of service connection for a psychiatric disorder, hearing loss, and right knee chondromalacia.

The Veteran's service-connected right leg disability does not render him unemployable due to the severity of his condition, as he is currently rated at 30% and has no other disabilities. The Board did not find that referral for extra-schedular consideration was warranted.

The Veteran's claims for PTSD, arthritis of the knees, ankles, elbows, and hands, and bilateral hearing loss were all denied. The Board found that there was insufficient evidence to establish service connection for PTSD due to lack of corroborated stressor events. For arthritis, no current diagnosis was provided in the record. For hearing loss, a compensable rating could not be assigned as the Veteran's hearing impairment did not meet the criteria for an exceptional pattern.

The veteran's claim is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the current level of her left knee disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection for osteoporosis of the left knee, PTSD, or epidermophytosis. For the low back disability, the rating was within the applicable range. The right arm burns and mandibular condyle fracture had no compensable ratings as they were asymptomatic.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected knee disabilities have been denied due to failure to report for scheduled examinations.

The Board has determined that the reduction of the Veteran's disability rating for his right knee disorder from 30 percent to 10 percent, effective July 1, 2006, was not proper and thus denied the claim.

The Veteran's left knee disability has been assigned a 20 percent combined rating based on instability and arthritis with painful motion. The Board finds that the manifestations of the Veteran's left knee disability are entirely encompassed by the schedular criteria, thus denying a higher rating.

The Veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations for his service-connected laxity of the knees and degenerative arthritis were denied as there was no evidence showing limitation of motion that would warrant a higher evaluation.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for residuals of medial meniscectomy, right knee; degenerative joint disease, right knee; and degenerative joint disease, left knee were denied. The RO found that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of the disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for a temporary total evaluation due to his left knee disability surgery from January 26, 2005 through October 25, 2005 is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for traumatic arthritis of the right and left knees, finding that these conditions were likely aggravated by active duty service. The Veteran's tendonitis of the right great toe is no longer in contention as she withdrew her appeal regarding this issue.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and scheduling a VA examination if necessary.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee condition is being remanded due to conflicting medical opinions and the need for further development.