Hip decisions — 2013

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a diagnosed psychiatric disability, such as PTSD, or any other psychiatric condition. The evidence does not support his claim of an in-service sexual assault leading to PTSD. For bilateral hip and left knee disabilities, there is no credible evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Veteran's appeal of all remaining issues has been withdrawn by his authorized representative.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee, back, and bilateral hip disabilities are not related to his active service. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for right hand disability has been withdrawn.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed low back, left ankle, right ankle, left hip, and right hip disabilities are not service-connected as they did not have their onset during service or are not related to disease, injury, or event of service origin or to a service-connected disability.

The Veteran has withdrawn her appeal regarding the issues of service connection for a left hip disability, right hip disability, and right ankle disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development, including obtaining an examination to address whether his service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his claimed low back, bilateral ankle, and bilateral hip disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to include obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for examinations to determine if his current disabilities are related to service.

The Board found no evidence of a bilateral hip or low back disability that was incurred in service, and thus denied the Veteran's claims for service connection.

The Veteran's headaches are found to be due to an undiagnosed illness during his service in the Gulf War. His bilateral hip, right ankle, left ankle, wrist, and elbow disabilities are not shown to be related to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral eye disability and left leg disabilities, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his active service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unemployable, as he is capable of performing sedentary employment.

The Board has reopened the claim of entitlement to service connection for a spinal disability and granted service connection based on direct evidence showing that the Veteran's current degeneration of the L5-S1 neural foramen and low lying conus at L2-3 is due to his active service.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic right or left hip disability during service and denied the Veteran's claims for service connection based on direct causation.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left hip disability, finding that it was not caused or aggravated by his service-connected right knee disabilities and arthritis could not be presumed to have been incurred in service.

The Veteran's tinnitus was found to be incurred in active military service, and the claim for service connection is granted.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to a need for an etiological opinion regarding the Veteran's hip disability, which may be related to service.

The Board found that the Veteran's right hip disability, including rheumatoid arthritis, was not incurred or aggravated by service and denied his claims.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current hip disability is related to his service-connected back or left knee disabilities. The TDIU issue also requires further consideration by the AMC.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral hip disability was reopened and granted. The condition is considered to be directly related to the service-connected low back disability.,Obesity has not been found to be service connected.