Knee Board decisions

The Board has granted an increased rating of 10 percent for intertrigo/lichen simplex from February 24, 1997. The claim for PTSD remains at a 10 percent disability rating since the veteran's symptoms are controlled by continuous medication and do not significantly impair his occupational or social functioning.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a back injury and bilateral knee disability, finding new and material evidence. However, it denied service connection for these conditions as they are not well-grounded due to lack of medical evidence linking them to service.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for tendonitis of the left and right shoulders, effective from July 1994. The veteran's claims for service connection involving bilateral knee disorders and hallux valgus deformity with plantar corn of the right foot are well-grounded.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the veteran's lumbosacral strain and denied any increase in rating for his left knee disorder.

The veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred for a myocardial infarction at St. Joseph Hospital were not covered by VA because the treatment was not for an adjudicated service-connected disability or a nonservice-connected disability associated with and held to be aggravating an adjudicated service-connected disability.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected left knee disability, finding that the evidence does not support a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral knee disorder and for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities. The veteran had two service-connected conditions: post-operative residuals of anal fissure rated at 60% disabling, and psuedofolliculitis barbae rated at 10%.

The Board found no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current right knee arthritis to his service-connected shrapnel wound residuals, and thus denied secondary service connection for this condition. The claim for increased evaluation of the abdominal disability was also denied.

The Board has determined that a 30 percent evaluation is warranted for the veteran's service-connected left knee disability, and a 10 percent evaluation remains appropriate for his right knee disability.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disorder was denied. His maxillary sinusitis has been granted an increased rating to 30 percent, but his circumcision scar remains at the original 10 percent rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected left knee disability, currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling.

The Board found that the veteran's claims for service connection were not well grounded and denied them. The March 1996 rating decision assigning a 10% disability rating for bilateral pes planus was not clearly erroneous.

The Board has determined that the veteran's arthritis of the lumbar spine, hips, and knees are well grounded claims. The RO is directed to obtain any additional medical records and schedule the veteran for a VA examination to determine if his current arthritis is related to his parachute jumps during World War II.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's service-connected right knee disability, finding that the current 10% rating adequately reflects his symptoms and limitations.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his right knee disabilities and service connection for peripheral vascular disease have been denied.,Service connection for the veteran's claimed peripheral vascular disease has not been well-grounded.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected left and right knee disabilities do not warrant a rating higher than 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right and left knee disabilities do not meet the criteria for a compensable rating, as there is no evidence of functional impairment.

The veteran's service-connected knee disability is rated at 10 percent, and his noncompensable ratings for keratosis pilaris and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation of the face are maintained. The Board found no evidence to support increased ratings.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disorder is of service origin and grants service connection for a left knee disability.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for the veteran's chondromalacia of the left knee, finding that his service-connected condition did not meet criteria for higher ratings due to lack of functional loss or symptom flare-ups.