Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) Board decisions

The Board remands the claims for service connection for right and left foot osteoarthritis, a left shoulder condition, and a right shoulder condition to allow for additional development, including new examinations with the Veteran's participation.

The Board granted an effective date of December 31, 2020, for the grant of service connection for right hip osteoarthritis and a TDIU.

The Board granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities and denied increased ratings for hypertension, lumbar spine disability, right sciatic radiculopathy, and multiple right knee and hip conditions.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for tinnitus and granted service connection for right and left knee disabilities, but remanded a claim for a thoracolumbar spine disorder.

The appeal for an increased evaluation in excess of 10 percent for left knee degenerative arthritis with patellar enthesophy has been withdrawn by the Veteran.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease/degenerative arthritis, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy as there was no credible evidence of an in-service injury or a causal relationship between the claimed conditions and his military service.

The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine condition, right hip condition, left shoulder condition, and cervical spine condition based on the evidence being in approximate balance as to whether these conditions are due to service.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for thoracolumbar spine disorder to correct duty to assist errors that occurred prior to the January 19, 2023, supplemental claim rating decision.

The Board granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.

The Board remands the claim for a back disability, to include degenerative arthritis, for further development including obtaining additional medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board denied service connection for left ear hearing loss and remanded claims for right shoulder disability, low back disorder, eczema, and right ear hearing loss.

The Board remands the matter of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to June 30, 2022, due to an alleged pre-decisional duty to assist error by failing to obtain private medical records.

The Board granted service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, to include osteoarthritis and degenerative arthritis; a bilateral ankle disorder, to include tendinitis; and a bilateral foot disorder, to include neuralgia and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PN), as these conditions were found to be caused or worsened by the Veteran's service-connected reactive arthritis.

The Board granted a disability rating of 40 percent for right knee chondromalacia patella with degenerative arthritis from December 12, 2019.

The Board remands the matter to obtain further development, including a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's perceived left ankle instability and rolling are directly due and related to his service-connected left foot disability.

The appeal is dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Veteran was granted a 40 percent disability rating for the lumbar spine and a 30 percent rating for the cervical spine, but these ratings were not increased. The Veteran's claim for TDIU from June 17, 2021, was also granted.

The Board denied service connection for left shoulder arthritis and tendinopathy, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, and a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD.

The Board granted an initial increased rating of 100 percent for depressive disorder with anxiety and a 50 percent rating for migraines, while denying increased ratings for rhinitis and sleep apnea. The appeal was dismissed for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board denied an earlier effective date prior to August 14, 2023 for the assignment of a 20 percent disability rating for a right knee disability and remanded increased rating claims for left knee, lumbar spine, and cervical spine disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations.