Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2025

The Board remands the issues of service connection for migraines, left and right leg shin splints, lumbar spine herniated disk, and bilateral knee osteoarthritis and right knee meniscal tear for a statement of the case.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for right hip strain with degenerative arthritis and remanded issues related to initial ratings and left hip condition.

The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine spondylosis as aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine with degenerative arthritis, and also granted an increased rating of 20 percent for the degenerative joint disease from April 18, 2024.

The Board denied the claims for a rating in excess of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss, an initial compensable rating for a posterior trunk scar, and initial compensable ratings for right and left knee disabilities.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for tinnitus and right knee osteoarthritis to correct an error in satisfying a statutory duty regarding notice of the right to a hearing.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as well as remanded one issue.

The Board granted service connection for a headache disability and assigned ratings of 70 percent, 20 percent, and 10 percent for generalized anxiety disorder, right ankle osteoarthritis, and right gamekeepers thumb respectively. The claims for increased ratings for sinusitis, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and the remaining conditions were denied.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's bilateral knee conditions, including degenerative arthritis and recurrent instability, as the evidence did not support a higher rating based on limitation of flexion or extension.

The Board granted service connection for cervical strain with degenerative arthritis, finding that the current disability was due to an in-service motorcycle accident.

The Board granted service connection for a right shoulder disability, a left shoulder disability, a right hip strain, a left knee strain, and a left ankle strain based on the Veteran's in-service injuries and continuous symptomatology since service.

The Board granted service connection for a right knee disability, diagnosed as meniscal tear, osteoarthritis, osteopenia, and resolved medical femoral epicondyle fracture based on aggravation of a pre-existing condition during ACDUTRA.

The appeals for the proposed assignment of effective dates and increased ratings were dismissed, as well as the appeal for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for a cold weather injury to the toes. The Veteran's tinnitus is rated at 10 percent.

The Board granted service connection for left and right knee osteoarthritis and meniscal tear, finding that these conditions are proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings and service connection, finding no persuasive evidence that the criteria for increased evaluations were met prior to the respective claim or examination dates.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities from March 1, 2021, and an effective date of March 1, 2021, for eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

The Board remands the claims for higher ratings for back, neck, and left knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Board denied the claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent disabling for service-connected fracture right knee, tibial plateau and anterior fibula, with painful motion with degenerative arthritis prior to May 3, 2025.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for various conditions, including hip and cervical spine disabilities, as well as upper extremity radiculopathy.

The appeal for service connection for left elbow degenerative joint disease was dismissed due to improper concurrent elections, while the claims for left thumb pain, right thumb osteoarthritis, and right elbow degenerative joint disease were remanded for further development.

The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates for his degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis and lumbosacral strain, and bilateral lower radiculopathy for the sciatic and femoral nerves due to a prohibited concurrent election under the modernized review system.