Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2004

The VA denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral foot disability, hypertension secondary to PTSD, and a cardiac disability secondary to PTSD. The evidence did not establish that any of these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, lumbar spine with bilateral lower leg disorder including pain and numbness, osteoarthritis of the left knee, generalized weakness of the body, and leg numbness.,Service connection was not established for any of these conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for osteoarthritis as secondary to his service-connected postoperative osteochondrosis, tuberosity of the left tibia and denied a higher evaluation for his postoperative osteochondrosis, tuberosity, left tibia. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the osteoarthritis to his service-connected condition.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his right knee disabilities and a total rating based on individual unemployability due to incomplete information from the RO.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's degenerative arthritis and scoliosis of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spines on a secondary basis to his service-connected right knee disability.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling an orthopedic examination.

Service connection is granted for arthritis of the hands and feet.,Service connection is denied for residuals of fracture to the left thumb and middle finger, and an injury to the right hand.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for patello-femoral degenerative arthritis of the right and left knees, as well as a compensable rating for hearing loss of the left ear, were denied by the RO. The RO found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable VA regulations.

The Board denied reopening the claims of entitlement to service connection for left shoulder and low back disabilities due to lack of new and material evidence.

The veteran's service connection for osteoarthritis of the cervical spine, lumbosacral spine, and thoracic spine was granted with initial ratings of noncompensable prior to specific dates, followed by increased ratings.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to changes in rating schedule regulations and the need for the veteran to be notified of these changes.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling examinations to determine the severity of his right foot disability and the etiology of his degenerative arthritis of the right knee.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO via the AMC for scheduling a Travel Board hearing. The issues on appeal are related to his right knee osteoarthritis and left knee degenerative joint disease (DJD).

The veteran's claim for increased ratings for traumatic osteoarthritis of the lumbosacral spine is being remanded due to changes in rating criteria and additional evidence.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the veteran's right shoulder disorder is related to his active service, and a new examination and opinion are needed.

The case is being remanded for additional VA treatment records, a neurology evaluation, and consideration of amended rating criteria.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development to determine if the veteran's right hip disorder is related to her service or any service-connected conditions.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The RO granted a 60% rating for her postoperative status, burst fracture L-1 vertebra from February 12, 2002.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is service-connected, but his left ankle disability is not. The decision denies both claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection have been withdrawn, and his claim for hypertension was denied as new and material evidence was not received. The low back disability claim is also denied.