Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2023

Service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine and spinal stenosis is granted. The Veteran's left knee disorder, which resulted in a 60 percent rating from April 1, 2011, has been found to be causally related to his service-connected back disorder.

The Veteran's service connection claims for various disabilities, including back, neck, knee, shoulder, and esophageal conditions, have been granted. The issues of service connection for a left knee meniscal tear, right hand disability, left hand disability, fatigue (undiagnosed illness), and memory loss (undiagnosed illness) are remanded.

The Board has restored a 50% rating for the Veteran's degenerative arthritis, bilateral feet, with bilateral pes planus and plantar fasciitis from September 28, 2018.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral osteoarthritis of the knees, finding that the evidence is approximately evenly balanced as to whether this condition began during active service.

The Board denied service connection for bronchial asthma, COPD, bilateral hearing loss, and a bilateral eye disability due to lack of evidence of current disabilities during the pendency of the claim.,Service connection was also denied for degenerative arthritis as it had already been approved by the Regional Office.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been referred to the RO. The SMC claim is remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with these pending claims.

The Board has granted earlier effective dates of August 30, 2016 for the service connection of left knee degenerative arthritis, right knee degenerative arthritis, and major depressive disorder.

The Veteran's psoriasis, right shoulder osteoarthritis, and sinusitis are granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's right shoulder condition (excluding osteoarthritis), to include tendinopathy and superior labral fraying, is remanded for further examination and opinion.,The Veteran's low back condition is remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's Lumbar Degenerative Arthritis is granted a rating of 40 percent from March 26, 2015 to September 4, 2020. A higher rating is denied for this period. For the period after September 4, 2020, a rating greater than 40 percent is denied.

The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine condition as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability due to lack of causal relationship between the conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's thoracolumbar degenerative arthritis of the spine is secondary to her service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's increased ratings for bilateral pes planus, right ankle degenerative arthritis, and left ankle degenerative arthritis are denied as they are already at the maximum schedular rating.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability is rated at 30 percent from June 12, 2022. The rating was granted as the condition has been manifested by forward flexion of the cervical spine to 15 degrees or less.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to outstanding private treatment records that may be pertinent to the Veteran's claims on appeal.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional records and an examination of the appellant's neck condition. The appeal is not about service connection at all, but rather a request for clarification on whether his current diagnoses are related to his military service.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further examination and medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left knee disability is secondary to his service-connected right knee osteoarthritis and lumbar spine degenerative arthritis. The examiner must consider the impact of the Veteran's other conditions on his left knee.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for her service-connected acquired scoliosis of the thoracic spine was denied. Her claim for TDIU due to service-connected disabilities was granted.

The Board has decided to remand four issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims and one issue regarding a TDIU prior to September 12, 2019. The main reasons for remanding are to obtain missing separation examination records and provide retrospective VA medical opinions on range of motion.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current diagnosis of degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine is due to an in-service injury, and thus service connection for this condition is granted.