Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2014

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, including as secondary to his service-connected excision of the head of the left radius, was denied. The Board found new and material evidence but did not establish service connection due to lack of causation.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed disabilities, including osteoarthritis of the right ankle, old avulsion fracture of the left ankle, bilateral status post total knee replacement, low back condition, and sciatic nerve condition, did not begin in service or until many years after service and cannot be linked to any established in-service injury, disease, or event. Therefore, these claims for service connection are denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine his eligibility for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for residuals of a fracture of the right tibia and osteoarthritis of the right knee is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected knee disabilities. The AOJ should also consider whether he is entitled to TDIU based on his service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA and private medical records, scheduling new VA examinations, and preparing a formal rating decision that rates the knee under appropriate diagnostic codes.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are of such severity as to effectively preclude all forms of substantially gainful employment for which the Veteran's education and occupational experience would otherwise qualify him, warranting a TDIU.

The Veteran's service-connected osteoarthritis of the right thumb does not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the AOJ for additional development, including issuing a statement of the case on his claim for a higher rating for left ankle sprain with degenerative arthritis and developing a TDIU claim due to lumbosacral spine degenerative disc disease. The AOJ must also consider whether the Veteran's TDIU claim should be considered under an extra-schedular basis.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed.

The Veteran's left foot disorder was not shown to be related to his active military service and is therefore denied for direct service connection. The reduction of the evaluation for residuals of a right knee injury from 30 percent to 10 percent, effective March 1, 2008, was found to be improper.

The Veteran's right shoulder disability was initially rated at 10 percent prior to November 14, 2011.

The Veteran is unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and residuals of cold injury with osteoarthritis.

The Veteran's neck disability is rated at 20 percent, and his lumbar spine, left knee, and right ankle disabilities are each rated at 10 percent. The RO found that the evidence did not support higher ratings for any of these conditions.

The Veteran's tinnitus is established as service-connected due to his bilateral hearing loss. The claims for initial compensable evaluation of bilateral hearing loss, service connection for left knee disability, and right knee disability are granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left ankle osteoarthritis is related to his service, as it was present since he injured his ankle during basic training. The Board found that the preexisting condition did not worsen in service and thus granted service connection for the disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed disabilities did not begin in service or until many years after service, and are not linked to any established in-service injury, disease, or event. Therefore, the claims for service connection have been denied.

The Board finds that the cause of the Veteran's death is not related to his service-connected disabilities, including bilateral knee arthritis.

The Veteran's left shoulder disability, including arthritis and rotator cuff tear, is currently rated at 20 percent. The Board has determined that a higher rating for the arthritis is warranted but not for the rotator cuff tear.

The Veteran's low back disability was granted effective May 6, 1999. His left knee disabilities and urethral stricture disease were also granted effective that date. The combined rating is now at 60 percent.