Knee Board decisions

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left knee and lumbar spine disabilities have been denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings and earlier effective dates for her service-connected right knee disorder, ganglion cyst of the left wrist, and left middle finger disorder. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder was not addressed as it is a separate issue.

The Board found that the appellant did not meet the criteria for benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to a fall at a VA medical facility in December 1991, as there is no credible evidence indicating any additional disabilities resulted from this incident.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension and elevated triglycerides, a nervous disorder, and tendonitis of the arms, hands, and knees, all claimed as due to herbicide exposure. The skin condition claim was not addressed in this decision.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected right knee disorder more likely than not contributed to his back pain, and granted service connection for multiple levels of degeneration throughout the spine as secondary to his service-connected post-traumatic arthritis of the right knee.

The Board finds that the veteran's right knee disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and is therefore denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral leg, knee, and left shoulder disabilities due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated during military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed right knee disorder is not related to his active service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has granted a 40 percent rating for the veteran's recurrent bilateral migratory thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities, with varicosities below the knee.

The Board found that the veteran's left knee disability was not incurred or aggravated during military service and denied his claim.

The veteran's claim for vocational rehabilitation benefits was denied as he did not cooperate with the program and decided to enroll in training instead of seeking employment.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for traumatic arthritis of the knee and residuals of a left tibial tuberosity fracture with degenerative changes, finding that the evidence does not meet the criteria for higher ratings under the applicable rating schedule.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for chondromalacia of the right knee, finding that the evidence did not support such a higher rating. The issue of service connection for depression was also addressed and found to be denied due to lack of proper notice of disagreement.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disorder and acid reflux were not incurred or aggravated by service, and thus denied these claims.

The Board found no evidence of a current disability related to service for any of the claimed conditions and denied all claims.

The veteran's service-connected chondromalacia of the right knee is currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling prior to July 26, 1999 and 20 percent disabling from that date. The Board finds no evidence of severe impairment including recurrent subluxation or lateral instability warranting a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have osteoarthritis of the knees or degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine that is related to service-connected disabilities. Therefore, his claims for these conditions are denied.

The veteran's appeal for an increased rating for his left knee disability has been dismissed as he withdrew the issue from appellate consideration.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for instability of the left knee, arthritis of the left knee, and muscle herniation of the left thigh. The evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.

The veteran's appeal is for higher initial ratings for several service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, patellofemoral syndrome of the left knee, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hypertension with cardiomegaly, and left shoulder impingement syndrome. The RO has denied these claims.,The veteran's most recent VA evaluations were conducted in December 1998 and January 1999.