Knee Board decisions

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for right and left knee osteoarthritis are denied as there is no legal basis for an earlier effective date.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected right knee osteoarthritis status post right medial meniscectomy is remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Veteran's service connection claims for hypopituitarism (claimed as diabetes insipidus), right knee disability, left knee disability, and migraine headaches are all granted. The remanded claims of service connection for a urinary system disorder, respiratory system disorder, and right shoulder disorder have been ordered.

The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities, combined with his obesity, make him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Board denied the TDIU claim as the Veteran's disabilities alone do not preclude him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has granted service connection for left foot degenerative arthritis and increased the rating for left knee patellar tendonitis to 30 percent. A separate 10 percent rating is assigned for left knee instability.

The Board has denied service connection for left and right knee disorders as they are not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service, arthritis did not manifest to a compensable degree within one year of separation from active duty, and such is not caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability.

The Veteran is seeking to have the June 2010 rating decision, which denied service connection for left knee tricompartmental degenerative joint disease, revised due to clear and unmistakable error. The appeal involves allegations of CUE in the original decision based on a May 2010 VA examiner's opinion linking the Veteran's condition to military service. The Board is remanding the case to obtain clarification on the dates of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) or inactive duty training (INACDUTRA).

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and colitis is dismissed as moot.,Service connection for a right knee disorder, left knee disorder, and back disorder are denied.

The Board has determined that the VA examinations and opinions provided were inadequate, and thus remanded for further development and consideration.

The Veteran's ratings for residuals of right knee injury with traumatic arthritis and right knee limitation of extension were restored to their previous levels, effective January 1, 2020.

The Board has withdrawn the Veteran's appeal for bilateral vision loss and has remanded her appeals regarding other conditions.

The Veteran's 40 percent rating for limited extension, right knee degenerative arthritis was reduced to a noncompensable (0%) rating effective July 1, 2021. The Board found the reduction improper and restored the prior 40 percent rating.

The Veteran's left knee extension disability is currently rated at 10 percent, but the evidence does not support a higher rating as his limitation of extension is not limited to 15 degrees or greater.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right knee condition and its relationship to service or a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various knee and foot conditions, as well as a shoulder condition due to a duty to assist in obtaining medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of these conditions.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a left knee condition, both claimed as secondary to his right knee with traumatic arthritis. The issues will be reconsidered based on all available evidence.

The Veteran's appeals for higher initial ratings and compensable ratings on several knee conditions have been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran during the appeal process.

The Board has denied service connection for chest tightness, a left knee disability, and chronic fatigue syndrome due to the lack of current diagnoses in the record. The claim for obstructive sleep apnea is remanded as it involves toxic exposure risk activities (TERA) during service.

The Veteran's PTSD was caused by his conceded combat stressors in the Gulf War, and he has a current diagnosis of left knee disability related to service.,Service connection is granted for both an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD) and a left knee disability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to obtain or maintain gainful employment prior to June 7, 2019. The Board denied his claim for TDIU.