Hip decisions — 2009

The Board remands the claims for a VA examination to determine if the Veteran has PTSD and a bilateral hip condition that is related to his service or secondary to his service-connected disabilities.

The appeal is remanded for further development, including a new VA examination to address the etiology of the claimed left hip disability.

The veteran withdrew his appeal concerning entitlement to service connection for PTSD at his January 2007 hearing before the Board. The claim is dismissed.

The Veteran was granted a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD with MDD and a TDIU due to the severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The veteran's claims for service connection for a skin disorder, bilateral foot disorder, neck disorder, and bilateral hip disability are remanded for further development. The claim for tinnitus is also remanded as it may be related to in-service noise exposure. The claim for service connection for hearing loss is reopened but requires additional evidence.

The Veteran's ankylosing spondylitis and related disabilities of the right ankle, bilateral hips, lumbar spine, and cervical spine were granted service connection as they were found to have been aggravated by his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for restoration of a 40 percent disability rating for his left knee disability, finding that improvement in the condition warranted the reduction.

The Board denied service connection for a right hip disorder as it was not shown to be causally or etiologically related to the appellant's service or a service-connected disability.

The Board finds that the veteran's current disabilities of the back, right shoulder, and hip are related to in-service manifestations.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hip disability, low back disability, cervical spine disability, bilateral hand disability, and shoulder disability as residuals of cold injury sustained from cold weather exposure in Korea.

The Veteran's low back disability and hip disability were granted service connection, while sciatic neuropathy was denied.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development of the record, including obtaining SSA disability determination records.

The Board found that a right hip disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and denied the claim for service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hemorrhoids and rectal bleeding, a bilateral hip condition, a right shoulder condition, and a bilateral wrist condition as there was no evidence of current diagnoses or a nexus to service.

The Board must remand the claims for service connection for a left shoulder and left hip condition to obtain an orthopedic examination to determine if these conditions are related to the Veteran's time in service, including an incident described by him during parachute training.

The veteran's right hip disability was rated at 10 percent prior to August 20, 2008, and increased to 20 percent effective that date.

The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's low back, right hip, and right knee disabilities as they were not related to his active military service or any incident thereof, including his service-connected left knee disability.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for a left hip disability and dysthymic disorder were remanded to the Board for additional development, including obtaining VA examinations and associating recent VA clinical records with the file.

The Board found that new and material evidence had been received to reopen the claims for service connection for bilateral wrist injuries and a bilateral shoulder disability, but did not address the merits of these claims. The appeal was remanded for further development.

The Board denied service connection for a right hip disability as it is not proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by the service-connected right knee sprain. The effective date for an increased rating for right knee sprain was set at October 17, 2003.