Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2021

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of his left knee osteoarthritis, finding that it was not incurred in or due to his time in service and is not proximately due to any service-connected disabilities.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of right knee chronic osteoarthritis, diverticulitis due to an undiagnosed illness, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) due to an undiagnosed illness because the appellant withdrew his appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's degenerative arthritis with spinal stenosis and IVDS was rated at 20 percent prior to July 26, 2019. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on functional loss due to pain or flare-ups.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that it is related to an in-service injury and resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, cervical spondylosis, right shoulder arthropathy, and bilateral hip arthritis, finding that the evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether these conditions are related to active duty service.

The Veteran's right knee patellar subluxation was granted a rating of 20 percent, but reduced to non-compensable since May 25, 2021.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development to determine if the Veteran's right and left knee disabilities are related to service-connected PTSD, including as due to obesity. The back disability claim is also being remanded.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the left hip due to new and material evidence. The case is remanded for further development, including a secondary service connection opinion considering all relevant conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for a new VA medical examination of the Veteran's right knee, as the previous examination did not adequately assess functional loss after repeated use over time.

The Board has denied service connection for right knee degenerative arthritis, right hip disability (claimed as secondary to right knee), and right ankle disability (claimed as secondary to right knee) due to a lack of evidence showing the conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.,There is no current diagnosis of any of these conditions in the Veteran's medical records.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy and right knee degenerative arthritis with leg length discrepancy and right tibia/fibula compound fracture, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the current level of disability.

The Board found that the Veteran was not precluded from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities prior to February 10, 2020.

The Board has remanded the claims for lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine and episcleritis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran is to be presumed credible for the limited purpose of this examination.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining VA medical opinions and addressing outstanding treatment records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's December 2019 substantive appeal was timely filed in response to the October 2019 SOC, and therefore reinstates the appeal of the underlying claims.

The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's left shoulder condition, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability or in-service injury and concluding that any present shoulder issues were less likely caused by his service-connected back problems.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and review, including consideration of an extraschedular rating for the Veteran's low back disorder. The TDIU claim is also being remanded.

The appeal on the issue of service connection for asthma, claimed as a lung condition secondary to lung infections is dismissed. The appeals for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for his lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and consideration of outstanding VA treatment records.

The Veteran's request for a higher rating for right shoulder tendonitis prior to November 7, 2019 was denied. The claim for a higher rating from November 7, 2019 to May 17, 2020 is also denied as the current assigned 40% rating is the maximum available under Diagnostic Code 5201.