Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2022

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee and right ankle disabilities, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings in multiple conditions have been dismissed due to the Veteran's request through his attorney to withdraw all pending appeals.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate VA medical opinions regarding his claimed bilateral knee, ankle, foot, hand, and wrist disabilities. The claims are being returned for further development.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations and opinions to address his service connection claim for an upper back/cervical spine disability, as well as his increased rating claims for various knee disabilities. The issues of service connection and increased ratings are related due to the interrelated nature of the conditions.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for a low back disability due to new and material evidence. The case is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding whether the low back disability is related to service or secondary to the service-connected right knee injury.

The Board has granted service connection for a bilateral ankle disability and denied service connection for difficulty swallowing, to include as secondary to laryngeal condition.

The Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with lumbosacral strain is rated at 10 percent, and the Board has remanded for further development. The issues of service connection for various other disabilities remain pending.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable. The left eye epiretinal membrane with chorioretinal scar was granted a 10 percent rating from October 31, 2014. For the left knee and right knee conditions, the Veteran's ratings remain unchanged.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment prior to February 13, 2018.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected low back disability and to provide a retrospective opinion regarding its severity prior to November 5, 2005. The case is being remanded for these purposes.

Service connection is denied for spine degenerative arthritis, intervertebral disc syndrome, sacroiliac injury, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and osteoarthritis.,Service connection is denied for irritable bowel syndrome, prostatitis, hydronephrosis, Peyronie's disease, ureterolithiasis, renal disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, arteriosclerotic heart disease, atherosclerotic renal disease, hypertensive vascular disease, and irritable bowel syndrome.,Service connection is denied for diabetes mellitus type II, right upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and left lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

The Veteran's right shoulder disability is rated at 30% from December 30, 2013 to October 13, 2021. A separate 20% rating for glenohumeral joint dislocation of the right shoulder (nondominant hand) effective October 13, 2021 is granted. The Veteran's claim for a higher rating in excess of 40% for his right shoulder disability from October 13, 2021 is remanded.

The Veteran's right knee disability is rated at 20 percent, and the Board found that a higher rating was not warranted based on the evidence of record.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disability, including as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability, is etiologically related to service and granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the VA medical opinions provided are inadequate and requires additional development to address the Veteran's claims for service connection. The issues of pes planus, bilateral foot disability (including degenerative joint disease), left-hand disability (other than left wrist osteoarthritis and left fifth finger sprain), bilateral knee disability, sleep apnea, right scapular pain, and dizziness are all remanded.

The Veteran's hysterectomy with residuals is granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's loss of use of a creative organ (hysterectomy) is also granted.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis. The VA examiner did not address the Veteran's lay statements about an in-service injury and the records are incomplete.

The Veteran's service-connected degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine is currently rated at 20 percent, and the Board finds that this rating adequately reflects his disability.

The Veteran's lower back condition and left lower extremity radiculopathy were denied increased ratings. The lower back condition was rated at 10% prior to September 18, 2019, and 20% from that date onwards.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent for the entire appeal period, which includes prior to and from November 12, 2020. The rating criteria are more favorable to the Veteran as his symptoms align with forward flexion of 30 degrees or less.