Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2023

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to insufficient opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's joint pain and his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disabilities are secondary to his service-connected right tibia stress fracture. A new VA examination is needed to clarify these issues.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation prior to March 9, 2021.

The Veteran's right hip disability, including his total hip replacement, is rated at 30 percent from August 1, 2021. The previous ratings for flexion and extension are denied prior to March 22, 2021.

The Board has granted service connection for right and left knee, hip, and low back degenerative arthritis as well as right and left lower extremity neuropathy that are secondary to the Veteran's service-connected pes planus with DJD.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have not prevented him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has granted an initial 90 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected right hip disability, effective March 1, 2018. The Veteran previously had a total right hip arthroplasty in 2006 due to osteoarthritis and continues to experience significant functional impairment requiring use of assistive devices.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for further examination. The issues of PTSD, depression, and plantar fasciitis with degenerative arthritis and plantar calcaneal spur, left foot are all being reviewed.

The Board denied the petitions to readjudicate claims for service connection for various conditions, finding that new and relevant evidence had not been received.

The Board denied the appellant's eligibility for direct payment of attorney fees from benefits resulting from the September 2019 grant of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU). The TDIU was granted in response to an initial claim for TDIU filed by the Veteran, and not as part of an appeal or reconsideration of prior decisions.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and IVDS, as well as sciatic radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, were denied. The effective dates for service connection awards for sciatic radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities are granted.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development regarding service connection for osteoarthritis, increased ratings for hypertension and hypothyroidism, and a higher rating for arteriosclerotic heart disease.

The Board has remanded the case due to an error in obtaining private treatment records that may be relevant to establishing a connection between the Veteran's lumbar spine disorders and his military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete treatment records and inadequate opinions concerning the etiology of his conditions.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction is denied as there is no current diagnosis of the condition and the evidence does not support a finding that it began during or approximate to the pendency of the claim.,The Veteran's PTSD rating is denied as his symptoms do not meet the criteria for a 70 percent disability rating, which requires occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for dizziness is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error related to the lack of an opinion on whether the condition is caused or aggravated by his hypertension.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for neck disability (claimed as neck pain) is remanded due to inadequate examination and opinion regarding the onset and etiology of the claimed condition, including consideration of a 2009 cervical spine diagnosis.,The Veteran's claim for increased rating for thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis is remanded due to inadequate examination and opinion regarding the extent of his pain symptomology.

The Board has remanded several service connection claims due to insufficient evidence and the need for additional development. The Veteran's claims include left shoulder, cervical spine, ankle, knee, foot, thigh, and back conditions related to her military service.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluation of left knee disability, service connection for right knee disorder secondary to his left knee disability, and TDIU are remanded due to inadequate examinations and new evidence.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for left knee conditions was denied. Prior to January 9, 2018, a rating higher than 10 percent for left knee osteoarthritis limitation of flexion is denied. From March 1, 2019, a rating higher than 30 percent for status post left knee total arthroplasty is denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a neurological disability secondary to his service-connected left shoulder disability was denied. The claim for an increased rating for glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis with rotator cuff tear, left shoulder, prior to July 19, 2021, was also denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for clarification regarding ankylosis of the Veteran's lumbar spine and further evaluation of his service-connected lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with intervertebral disc syndrome.