Knee Board decisions

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's right knee disability, finding that it was aggravated by his duties as a cargo handler during active duty.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including right and left knee disorders, ventral hernia, pes planus, inguinal hernia, and cervical spine disorder. The reasons were that there was no evidence of these conditions being incurred or aggravated by service.

The Board has granted an increased rating of 20 percent for the veteran's service-connected residuals of right knee injury, status post anterior cruciate reconstruction. The rating for chondromalacia of the right knee remains at 10 percent.

The Board denied an increased evaluation for degenerative joint disease of both knees, finding that the current range of motion and lack of instability do not warrant a higher rating.

The Board has denied the appellant's claims for service connection for a right knee disorder and a neurological disability of the right hand.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for reopening his service connection claims for osteochondritis dissecans of the left knee, degenerative arthritis of the right knee, and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. The evidence submitted did not present new and material evidence to reopen any of these claims.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to a failure to honor his request for a Travel Board hearing. The issues of entitlement to an increased rating for arthritis and instability of the left knee are now before the RO for additional development.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee disorder, characterized by post-operative residuals of an arthroscopic surgery with x-ray evidence of degenerative changes and pain on motion, warrants a separate compensable (10 percent) evaluation for status post injury and arthroscopy of the right knee.

The Board has granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the bilateral shoulders, low back pain, right hip pain, right knee pain, and right ankle pain as secondary to service-connected amputation.

The Board found no evidence to support the veteran's claim for service connection of a left knee disability as secondary to his service-connected left ankle disability. The rating for residuals of a fracture of the left ankle, with tibial and medial nerve involvement, remains at 20 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disability, which required a total replacement surgery, was aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability. As such, the claim for secondary service connection is granted.

The veteran's right knee injury residuals are manifested by some limitation of motion, pain on motion, mild swelling and enlargement of the knee, tenderness over the patellofemoral joint, no instability, normal x-ray findings, slight quadriceps weakness and atrophy. He is currently rated 10 percent for this condition.,The veteran's left knee injury residuals are manifested by some limitation of motion, pain on motion, no pain but crepitation on motion, tenderness over the patellofemoral joint, no instability, normal x-ray findings, and a positive patellar grind test. He is currently rated 10 percent for this condition.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a right knee disorder and denied it. The veteran's left knee disorder and left ear hearing loss are not service-connected. A noncompensable rating is assigned for the veteran's left ear hearing loss.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and temporary total convalescent benefits for his right knee disability. The RO will conduct further development as requested, including obtaining medical records from private providers and agencies, before readjudicating the claims.

The veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right and left knee disabilities are service-connected.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of July 19, 2000 for a 20 percent rating for her service-connected left knee disability. The Board found that there was no evidence showing an increase in disability within one year prior to July 19, 2000.

The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder, left knee instability, and muscle group I wound. The conditions are not shown to warrant higher disability evaluations.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral athlete's foot and left knee disability, with a rating of 10 percent for tinnitus.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral knee disability is not related to his military service and therefore denied his claim.