Knee Board decisions

The VA denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his status post left knee internal derangement and migraine headache, finding that the evidence did not support a higher evaluation.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disorder and granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, traumatic arthritis of the left hip, traumatic arthritis of the left knee, and a left scapula fracture. The disability ratings were assigned effective from November 13, 1996, to October 31, 1999, and higher than 10 percent from November 1, 1999, forward.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disorder, finding that there was no evidence of any treatment or diagnosis related to this injury during his active military service. The Board concluded that the preponderance of the evidence did not support the claim and thus denied it.

The veteran seeks an increased evaluation for his service-connected right knee disability. The RO should consider whether staged ratings are warranted and review the claims file to ensure all notification and development action required by the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 is completed.

The veteran's secondary service connection claims for left foot, ankle, knee, hip, lumbosacral spine, and lower pelvic region conditions were denied as they are not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right leg disabilities.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability. The Board also found that the veteran incurred a right knee disability during active service, leading to an initial evaluation of 50 percent for PTSD.

The Board has determined that the RO's decision to deny increased evaluations for the veteran's service-connected knee disabilities is not supported by the evidence of record and remanded the case for additional development.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral knee disability was incurred during active duty and granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has reopened the claim and determined that new evidence supports a finding that the veteran's right knee disorder is related to his service-connected left knee disability, warranting secondary service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection for bilateral pes planus, knee disorder, hip disorder, and back disorder. The evidence did not support a higher rating for the veteran's bilateral pes planus.

The VA denied increased evaluations for osteoarthritis of the right and left knees, currently rated at 20 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee disability, including degenerative joint disease and a total knee replacement, is at least as likely as not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has granted the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral ankle disorder secondary to service-connected pes planus, but denied his claims for service connection for bilateral knee disorders.

The Board found that the August 1991 rating decision denying TDIU did not contain clear and unmistakable error. The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU was denied as there was no evidence showing he was unemployable due to service-connected disabilities prior to July 1, 1994.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left knee disability and hypertension. The left knee disability was rated as 10 percent disabling, while hypertension was not considered for a rating in excess of 10 percent due to consistent controlled readings.

The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's current right knee conditions to his military service and denied both claims.

The VA denied increased ratings for seborrheic dermatitis and right knee instability with chronic instability.

The veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected left knee disability is granted, with a current rating of 10 percent.

The Board denied an increased rating for postoperative residuals of multiple surgeries of the right knee with chronic instability, finding that the evidence did not warrant a higher evaluation.