Knee Board decisions

The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative arthritis of the right knee is secondary to his service-connected left knee disability and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his service-connected residuals of a stomach resection and synovitis of the right knee, finding that the evidence does not support ratings higher than the current 40 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

The Board found that the veteran's degenerative arthritis of the right knee was not incurred or aggravated during service and is not proximately due to his service-connected postoperative residuals of osteochondroma of the right knee. The claim for an increased disability evaluation for the service-connected right knee disability was also denied.

The Board has granted a 20 percent evaluation for each of the veteran's right and left knee patellofemoral syndromes, finding that they are productive of moderate impairment.

The VA denied the claim that the veteran's service-connected conditions contributed to his death. The Board found no evidence linking any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his hearing loss and tinnitus, to his death.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee disability and shin splints are not service-connected, as there is no credible evidence linking these conditions to her military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a left knee injury and for increased ratings for Reiter's syndrome with various manifestations, including genitourinary infections, bilateral iritis, aggravation of pes planus, arthritis of multiple joints, and ankle involvement. The decision also noted that the veteran's current left knee symptoms were not related to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected low back, left ankle, and right elbow disorders.

The veteran's left knee internal derangement is rated as noncompensable, but his symptomatic left knee medial meniscus removal is rated at 10 percent. The decision grants the veteran a compensable rating for his service-connected condition.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence was submitted to reopen the claim for service connection of a left ankle disorder. The veteran's current complaints of pain in both joints are attributed to injuries sustained during service, but no direct link is found between his current knee condition and those injuries.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, shortening of the lower extremity, arthritis of the thoracic spine (claimed as secondary to a service-connected shell fragment wound), and degenerative changes of the knees bilaterally (also claimed as secondary to a service-connected shell fragment wound). The decision found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to service or any in-service noise exposure.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his postoperative patellofemoral pain syndrome of the right knee and residuals of a fracture of the right tibia, finding that the evidence did not support ratings in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disability, characterized by significant osteoarthritis and pain, warrants a 30 percent evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5257.

The RO granted a temporary 100 percent convalescent rating for the service-connected left knee disability, effective on September 10, 1996 through October 1996. The veteran continues his appeal for higher ratings for both the left knee and low back disabilities.

The Board denied the veteran's increased evaluation claims for his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, finding that the schedular criteria did not meet the requirements for a higher rating.

The VA has denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his left knee conditions, finding that the current ratings of 10 percent are appropriate.

The VA determined that the veteran does not have current disabilities of the right shoulder, right ankle, right knee, or left knee. Therefore, service connection for these conditions was denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a jaw fracture and right knee disorder, finding that new and material evidence was not submitted to reopen these claims. The veteran's claim for residuals of a right leg fracture is also denied.

The veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of fractures of the second and third toes of the right foot, a nucleated lesion of the right foot, and residuals of a right knee injury were denied as not well grounded. The RO has now reconsidered these issues and again denied them.

The Board denied a higher disability rating for the veteran's right knee condition, finding that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 10 percent. The condition is currently rated as internal derangement with slight instability and limited flexion.