Knee Board decisions

The Board has granted the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for a right knee disorder and will now consider the merits of this claim. The Veteran is entitled to an increased rating for his right knee condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of a right knee disorder and an increased evaluation for his left knee degenerative joint disease. The extension of a temporary total evaluation for convalescence following left knee surgery was also denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for right knee traumatic arthritis with instability was granted, effective from February 22, 2001.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have any of the claimed conditions related to his active service. The claims for sinusitis, nervous condition with tremors, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, neck injury, right ankle injury, left knee injury, and numbness of the head are all denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss or right knee disability related to service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service connection claims for right and left knee disabilities, to include patellofemoral pain syndrome, are denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between his current conditions and active service.

The Veteran's initial compensable evaluations for left and right knee strain have been granted, but the Board finds that further development is needed due to potential increase in severity of her disabilities since the last VA examination.

The Veteran's bilateral knee disability is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral pes planus, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

Throughout the rating period on appeal, the Veteran's service-connected retropatellar pain syndrome of the right knee was manifested by limitation of motion but there was no showing that flexion was limited to 60 degrees or extension was limited to 5 degrees. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to functional loss.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal on all the listed issues before a decision was made.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee disability and recurrent headaches are being remanded due to the need for further development, including medical examinations.

The Veteran's left knee disability, including arthritis and instability, warranted a separate 10 percent rating for loss of motion associated with instability prior to February 2, 2004. Since April 1, 2005, the Veteran is entitled to a 30 percent evaluation for his total knee replacement.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain a VA opinion regarding the presence of instability in his right knee following total knee replacement, and whether he should be granted a separate compensable rating for this condition.

The Board found that the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the knees was not incurred or aggravated in service and is not related to a service-connected disability, thus denying her claim for service connection.

The Veteran's right knee disability, including instability and limitation of motion, has been rated at 60 percent since November 25, 2008. This rating is for total right knee arthroplasty.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disorder and TDIU due to lack of evidence showing that his current left knee disability is related to his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for depression, a low back condition, a left hip condition, a right hip condition, and a right knee condition, finding no current diagnoses of these conditions and insufficient evidence linking them to service or service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed low back and knee disorders were not incurred or aggravated by service, and therefore denied his claims.

The Board has determined that additional efforts are necessary to clarify the dates of the appellant's service in the Air Force Reserve and to obtain relevant medical records. The appeal is REMANDED for these purposes.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened, but the evidence does not meet the criteria to establish service connection for each condition.,The Veteran has been granted a higher initial evaluation of 100 percent for PTSD.