Knee Board decisions

The Board has determined that the veteran's lumbar spine, bilateral hips, and right knee disorders are not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected left knee disability. The evaluations for carpal tunnel syndrome fracture of the wrist with carpal tunnel syndrome and fracture of the wrist with degenerative arthritis have also been denied.

The Board denied service connection for degenerative joint disease of the knees, finding that it was not incurred in or aggravated by service and could not be presumed to have been incurred due to a lack of evidence showing such an injury during service.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 100 percent disabling, and he has additional disabilities that independently rate at 60 percent or more. He is not in need of regular aid and attendance but is substantially confined to his dwelling due to multiple service-connected disabilities.

The Board has granted an increased rating of 20 percent for the veteran's service-connected left knee strain with spurring, effective from May 2001. The arthritis is separately rated at 10 percent.

The veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated during active service. The Board denied the claim for a total rating based upon individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities as his service-connected conditions do not prevent him from engaging in substantial and gainful employment.

The VA has determined that the veteran's right knee disability, which is currently rated at 20 percent under Diagnostic Code 5257 (recurrent subluxation and lateral instability), does not warrant an evaluation in excess of this rating.

The VA has determined that the veteran's right knee disability does not warrant a rating higher than 20 percent, as his symptoms do not meet criteria for a more severe evaluation.

The veteran's right knee disability is rated at 30 percent, and his left thigh wound disability remains at 40 percent.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities are not of such severity as to preclude all forms of substantially gainful employment, and therefore the claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is denied.

The Board found that the veteran's pre-existing left knee disability was not aggravated by service and denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's case is being remanded to the RO for scheduling a hearing before another Member of the Board at the RO.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral pes planus and a left knee disability, finding no competent medical evidence of these conditions until many years after service. The Board also found no causal link between any incident of service and these disabilities.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for postoperative meniscectomy of the right knee was denied as a matter of law due to his failure to report for scheduled VA examinations.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the left clavicle disability effective February 3, 1993. The veteran's claim for an increased rating of his left knee disability is also granted.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disability, including his post-operative surgeries and arthritis, warrants a 30 percent rating for the periods of June 1, 1997 through December 11, 1997 and February 1, 1998 through June 18, 2001. For the period March 25, 1997 through June 18, 2001, a separate 30 percent rating for traumatic arthritis of the left knee is granted.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right shoulder and left knee disorders due to a lack of evidence showing current disabilities related to service.

The veteran's service-connected right knee conditions are currently rated at 20% and 10%, respectively, but the Board finds that these ratings do not meet his claim for increased disability.

The Board has granted a rating of 40 percent for the veteran's residuals of femoral neck fracture of the right hip, effective from September 22, 2001. The claim for increased ratings for his right knee disability and withdrawal of appeal for scarring due to nasal fracture are also addressed.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for a knee disability, finding that there was no chronic left or right knee condition in service and no evidence linking any current knee disability to service.

The veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death. The Board cannot proceed with the merits of this case as he is no longer alive.