Hip decisions — 2004

The Board found that the veteran's bilateral hip and knee disabilities are not related to his military service, including the shell fragment wound he sustained in April 1970. Degenerative joint disease of the hips was not diagnosed within one year of his discharge. The claim for increased rating for PTSD was granted.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right knee, left ankle, bilateral hip, and left wrist disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence establishing a current disability or a relationship between any such disabilities and either service or a service-connected condition.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development of his claims, including obtaining additional VA treatment records and administrative procurement records.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA examinations and records from SSA. The veteran's claims for service connection for back, left leg, and hip disabilities, as well as an increased rating for his right knee disability, are pending.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a right shoulder disability, left ankle disability, reflex dystrophy of the left leg and foot, arthritis of the feet, and left hip disability. The appeals were based on direct evidence without any presumption or secondary relationship to prior conditions.

The veteran's claims for service connection for low back, left ankle, right foot, left hip, and bilateral knee disabilities were denied. The VA examination did not diagnose any of these conditions.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for left knee and left hip disabilities due to incomplete development, including a need for a VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions regarding whether the veteran's disabilities are secondary to his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right hip and lumbar spine disabilities were not incurred or aggravated during his active duty service, and thus denied both claims.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to VCAA requirements.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service connection for multiple lipomas, claimed as secondary to herbicide exposure, is granted. The effective date remains pending further review.

The Board denied service connection for a skin rash of the elbows, a back disability, bilateral hip and knee disabilities, residuals of dislocation of the right middle finger, and a tail bone disability. Service connection was granted for tinnitus with an initial rating of 0 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and left knee disability. The Board found that there was no evidence of a hip disability or left knee disability during service or within one year after separation from service.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a right hip disability is being remanded due to the need for further factual development, including medical examination and opinion regarding the nature and etiology of any current right hip disorder or factor in mechanical hip pain.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen any of the previously denied claims.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his inability to travel for a scheduled hearing. His claim of entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability remains under review.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection of a right hip disability, claimed as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability due to insufficient evidence showing that the right hip condition was proximately due to or aggravated by the service-connected left knee disability.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for clarification of his hearing preference and further development.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining recent treatment records and arranging for examinations of his left ankle and left hip disorders.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to inconsistencies in the veteran's testimony and need for an addendum from a VA physician.