Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2025

The Veteran's service-connected low back disability was denied a rating in excess of 40 percent, but TDIU was granted due to his inability to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board granted special monthly compensation at the rate authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 1114(l) and remanded claims for SMC based on housebound status and an allowance for an automobile or other conveyance and/or adaptive equipment.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with IVDS and bilateral foot conditions, prevented him from securing and maintaining gainful employment from August 31, 2010, to January 30, 2011.

The Board granted service connection for right knee and leg, left knee and leg, and low back disabilities based on the evidence showing a direct relationship to the Veteran's military service.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities and basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance beginning November 19, 2015.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, as the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claim for a TDIU due to service-connected bilateral plantar fasciitis with degenerative arthritis as moot, given that he has already been awarded a 100% combined schedular rating.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a bilateral leg condition, and left lower extremity radiculopathy but granted service connection for right hip osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected back disability.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the Veteran's left shoulder disability based on the evidence of record.

The Board denied an effective date prior to October 1, 2021, for the award of service connection for right hip conditions and remanded claims for higher ratings.

The Board denied service connection for left wrist, right elbow, and left elbow disabilities, as well as an initial compensable rating for left knee osteoarthritis and Raynaud's disease.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of a 40 percent evaluation for IVDS, to include degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine, as there was no factually ascertainable evidence that supported an increase in the disability rating within one year prior to March 8, 2022.

The Board granted service connection for right knee degenerative arthritis and left knee degenerative arthritis, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.

The Board denied service connection for a right foot disability and rheumatoid arthritis as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, continuity of symptomatology, or a causal relationship between the current disabilities and the Veteran's military service.

The Board granted increased ratings for the veteran's right and left knee joint osteoarthritis, as well as instability in both knees, effective November 1, 2023.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's service-connected generalized anxiety disorder with unspecified depressive disorder and hypertension, as well as remanded the claims for left knee strain and right knee degenerative arthritis.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of February 15, 2013 for the grant of an increased 40 percent rating for a low back disability. The other issues were remanded.

The Board remands the claim for a cervical strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine to correct duty to assist errors and obtain an addendum medical opinion.

The Board granted an effective date of November 19, 2007, for the grant of service connection for cervical spine degenerative arthritis with spinal stenosis and major depressive disorder associated with cervical spine degenerative arthritis.

The Board granted service connection for gout but denied service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis, lumbosacral strain and degenerative disc disease/degenerative arthritis, and hypertension.