Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) Board decisions

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar spine disability, sciatic neuropathy, and shoulder and knee disabilities have been denied by the Board.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left hand, left knee, and right knee conditions due to inadequate VA opinions and failure to comply with prior remand directives. The case is now pending for further review.

The Board granted service connection for a right knee disorder, diagnosed as degenerative joint disease/osteoarthritis, finding that the Veteran's condition is related to his active duty service.

The Board denied service connection for a joint pain disorder, bile disorder, fatigue, GERD, and dyspnea. The appeals for increased disability ratings for the right and left knee disabilities and instability were also denied. The TDIU appeal was dismissed.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his neck, back, and nerve conditions along with social anxiety disorder, rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Board granted service connection for back disabilities of thoracic spine strain, lumbosacral strain, and degenerative arthritis due to an in-service motor vehicle accident.

The Board denied the claims for service connection and increased ratings, finding no evidence supporting a causal or aggravating relationship between the Veteran's Sjogren Syndrome and medications used to treat her service-connected disabilities, and that the lumbar spine disability did not meet the criteria for higher ratings.

The Veteran's claims for higher disability ratings are being remanded due to the AOJ not considering VA examinations conducted in September 2021, which were obtained after the initial rating decision.

The Veteran's hip disabilities have been granted service connection, but the current ratings are less than what he contends. The Board has determined that additional medical examination is needed to properly assess the severity of his hip disabilities.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for chronic adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, and degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine were denied by the Board. The Veteran was not granted any increase in rating.

The Board denied the claims for increased ratings and service connection, as the Veteran did not file a timely substantive appeal or request an extension of time within one year of the December 2015 rating decision.

The Veteran's right knee disability is currently rated at 20 percent, but the Board has remanded the claim for a higher rating. The claims for service connection for Gulf War bacteria and an acquired psychiatric disorder are also being remanded due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Board denied service connection for GERD, right kidney disability, right shoulder disability, hemorrhoids, left knee osteoarthritis, and sinus disability as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the claims of cervical spine strain with intervertebral disc syndrome, lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, and right shoulder impingement syndrome with arthritis.

The Board granted a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) for the Veteran's service-connected conditions, which include fibromyalgia and other musculoskeletal issues.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome of the lumbar spine, left ankle deltoid ligament sprain, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, bilateral otitis externa, eczema, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain with osteoarthritis, tinnitus, left varicocele, and cystitis, render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral ankle, knee, and hip disabilities are being remanded for further development due to inadequate examinations at the time of the initial decision.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right hand disabilities and TDIU due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in obtaining the qualifications of the November 2015 and May 2016 VA examiners.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for left hip degenerative arthritis and lumbar degenerative arthritis and scoliosis, as secondary to his service-connected left knee joint osteoarthritis with patellofemoral pain syndrome and right ankle sprain. The VA examiner is requested to provide addendum opinions regarding these claims.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals, and the Board has dismissed all issues related to left knee osteoarthritis, neck condition, right knee osteoarthritis, and PTSD.