Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) Board decisions

The Board found that the reduction of the rating for the Veteran's right foot hammer toes from 10% to 0% was proper due to a clear and unmistakable error in assigning a separate compensable rating for painful motion under Code 5282, which violated the prohibition against pyramiding. The Veteran does not have hammer toes affecting all of her toes.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for his lumbar spine condition is granted with an effective date of April 30, 2007.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's application for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant should be remanded due to a regulatory error in determining his eligibility based on permanent and total service-connected disability.

The Board has decided to remand both the service connection claim for sleep apnea and the rating claim for degenerative arthritis with intervertebral disc syndrome, lumbar spine. The claims will be reconsidered by the AOJ with new medical opinions provided.

The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine is rated at 20 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,The Veteran's radiculopathy of the left lower extremity is rated at 20 percent, which meets the criteria for an increased initial rating to 40 percent prior to July 10, 2019 and remains at 20 percent thereafter.,The Veteran's radiculopathy of the right lower extremity is rated at 20 percent, which meets the criteria for an increased initial rating to 40 percent prior to July 10, 2019 and remains at 20 percent thereafter.,The Veteran's chronic left hip strain (flexion) is not service-connected and thus does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,The Veteran's left hip strain (extension) is rated at noncompensable (0 percent), which meets the criteria for an initial compensable rating.,The Veteran's left hip strain (impairment of thigh) is rated at noncompensable (0 percent), which meets the criteria for an initial compensable rating.,PTSD was granted service connection effective September 20, 2017 and does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations in various service-connected conditions are being remanded due to a pre-decisional error where the VA failed to provide her with scheduled VA examinations. The Veteran is required to be provided additional opportunities for these exams.

The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine did not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating, as his forward flexion was less than 15 degrees and he had other limitations that prevented him from meeting the requirements for a higher rating.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) from December 21, 2017 to July 20, 2020 was dismissed because he is already in receipt of a 100% combined schedular disability rating and none of his service-connected disabilities alone would warrant a TDIU.

The Veteran's initial migraine including migraine variant claim is denied as his symptoms do not include characteristic prostrating attacks.,The Veteran's low back condition remains rated at 20 percent, and the issue of entitlement to a TDIU is remanded due to inextricability with the low back rating.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right shoulder injury, finding that his symptoms have been present since separation from service and are consistent with arthritis. The decision is based on continuity of symptomatology.

The Veteran's application for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant was denied as he does not have any service-connected disability that meets the criteria for such benefits.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for cervical spine stenosis and degenerative arthritis, finding that new evidence supports a link between his military service and these conditions.

The Board granted service connection for GERD, sinus headaches, right and left lower extremity neuropathy, pseudofolliculitis barbae of the skin, and lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder (depression and anxiety) was denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease and degenerative arthritis was denied, as the effective date cannot be earlier than December 9, 2021, when VA received his supplemental claim. The Board found that no valid claim had been filed within one year of separation from service.

The Board has remanded the claims for an increased rating for thoracolumbar strain, degenerative arthritis of the left hip, impairment of thigh, left hip, limitation of extension, left thigh, right hip degenerative arthritis, limitation of extension, right thigh, and impairment of thigh, right hip due to a lack of updated VA examination prior to the September 2021 decision.

The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back, and left knee disabilities as they were not etiologically related to the Veteran's active service or secondary to a service-connected condition.

The Board remands the claim for a new VA opinion regarding the Veteran's current low back disability to determine if it is at least as likely as not that the disability had its onset during his period of active duty for training or is otherwise causally related to an in-service disease or injury.

The Veteran's service connection claims for left shoulder strain, right shoulder strain, cervical strain with degenerative arthritis and spinal stenosis, and degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine status post discectomy are being remanded due to a duty to assist error.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right hip disabilities were denied, but an effective date of October 10, 2018, was granted for the award of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits.

The Veteran's service-connected right knee disabilities have been rated at 10 percent since July 8, 2020. The Board has determined that the current ratings do not accurately reflect the severity of the disabilities.