Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2023

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal, finding that the grant of service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis was clearly and unmistakably erroneous due to a misrepresentation of his active duty service duration.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations and opinions to address the etiology of his diagnosed conditions, including vertigo. The claims are also remanded for further development regarding service connection.

The Veteran's right shoulder disability is rated at 20 percent prior to June 2, 2023. The Board found the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board has denied service connection for the Veteran's back disability, left hip osteoarthritis, right hip osteoarthritis, LLE neuropathy, RLE neuropathy, and neck osteoarthritis. The evidence does not support a finding that any of these conditions are related to service.,The Board found no credible evidence linking current disabilities in the Veteran's back, hips, or nerves to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's right hip condition is aggravated by his service-connected left hip condition.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including right knee osteoarthritis, left and right shoulder impingement syndrome, degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, radiculopathy in the right lower extremity, femoral nerve radiculopathy, and right hip trochanteric syndrome with osteoarthritis, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. As such, he is granted TDIU.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hand degenerative arthritis is being remanded due to the need for a new opinion regarding the etiology of his condition.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty-to-assist error, requiring VA examinations and medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions.

The Board has determined that the VA examination is inadequate and remands both issues for further development, including a new VA examination.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine degenerative arthritis is granted a 10% rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy, but denied for other conditions.,Bilateral hearing loss and bilateral plantar fasciitis are not service connected.

The Veteran's back and sciatica radiculopathy are granted as service-connected, with the latter being secondary to his now-service connected low back disability.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for a left knee disability, finding that his condition was incurred in service and is related to his active duty.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from June 7, 2017, to May 17, 2018.

The Board has determined that there are outstanding records of VA treatment that should be obtained and added to the claims file. The Veteran's complete and updated records of VA treatment should be requested and associated with the claims file.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied, and the Board found no basis to assign an earlier effective date.

The Board has denied service connection for low back and bilateral knee disabilities, finding that the current conditions are not related to military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him physically or mentally unable to engage in substantially gainful employment prior to December 11, 2018. Therefore, TDIU is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for right knee osteoarthritis on a secondary basis to the left knee osteoarthritis, finding that the left knee disability caused or worsened the right knee disability.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right and left knee disabilities due to newly received service treatment records showing treatment for knee conditions during service. A new VA examination is required to determine if these conditions are related to service.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for his right and left knee conditions has been remanded due to the receipt of additional VA treatment records. The case must be returned to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) for review of these new documents.