Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2025

The Board remands the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date and a higher disability rating for his service-connected right shoulder conditions due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the ameliorative effects of medication.

The Board denied service connection for bronchial asthma and denied increased ratings for several disabilities, while granting a 10 percent rating for hypertension.

The Veteran's service connection for left knee joint osteoarthritis was granted, while the claims for bilateral ankle tendinitis with symptomatic laxity and bilateral foot degenerative arthritis were denied.

The Board granted a 10 percent rating for hypertension, but denied higher ratings for scars of the left and right thigh, plantar fasciitis of the left foot, hip and knee osteoarthritis, and service connection for various conditions including erectile dysfunction, lumbar spine pain, TBI, and cervical spine pain.

The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, osteoarthritis of the left knee, and osteoarthritis of the right knee as there was no credible evidence to support an in-service incurrence or aggravation of any of these conditions.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for right hip osteoarthritis to obtain an addendum opinion from a clinician regarding its relationship to in-service groin pain.

The Board granted an effective date of September 22, 2022, for the grant of service connection for right knee limitation of extension and flexion.

The Board granted direct service connection for GERD, hypertension, and a heart attack and its residuals due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The right hip cyst with osteoarthritis was granted as secondary to the service-connected plantar fasciitis.

The Board granted an effective date of April 1, 2013, for the grant of service connection for acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis of the right shoulder.

The Board remands the claim for a supplemental opinion to estimate the Veteran's left knee disability picture without the benefit of medication.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right foot degenerative arthritis and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board denied service connection for cervical strain with degenerative arthritis, left upper extremity cervical radiculopathy, and migraine headaches as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by active service.

The Board denied an increased rating for tinnitus and dismissed the appeals related to the proposed reductions in ratings for degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, right shoulder bicipital tendonitis and rotator cuff tendonitis, and cervical spine.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an increased rating and TDIU, as the evidence did not support a higher schedular rating or entitlement to a TDIU.

The appeal for service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, claimed as osteoarthritis, was withdrawn by the Veteran and is therefore dismissed.

The Board granted service connection for dyshidrotic eczema of the hands and denied service connection for chronic headaches, sleep apnea, irritable bowel syndrome, allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, left hip strain with various limitations, left knee joint osteoarthritis, pain of lumbar spine, and other specified trauma-and stressor-related disorder.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and right knee condition to correct pre-decisional errors in the duty to assist.

The Board denied service connection for multiple disabilities, including left knee, right knee, lower back, upper back/neck, right shoulder, and bilateral foot conditions.

The Board remands the claims for further development as the prior remand directives were not substantially complied with.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine (claimed as back condition) for further development and readjudication.