Hip decisions — 2013

The Veteran's right hip disability, post-total hip arthroplasty (THA), is rated at 50 percent effective January 14, 2013.

The Veteran seeks service connection for a left hip disability, which he claims is related to his military service. The Board has directed that the Veteran be provided with an appropriate VA examination to determine the likely nature and etiology of any neurological disorder of the left hip, including sciatica. This remand is necessary as the previous VA examiner did not conduct or comment on EMG/NCV testing.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine, right knee, and right hip disabilities due to new evidence submitted since the previous denials. The Board finds that these conditions are related to an in-service injury during active duty.

The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the Veteran has a bilateral foot disability, to include arthritis, or a hip disability, including coxa saltans, that is causally related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have current diagnoses of left hip or left ankle disabilities, and thus, his claims for service connection based on secondary to residuals of a right femur fracture are denied.

The Veteran's claims regarding the reopening of service connection for bilateral knee condition, left hip condition, and left shoulder condition are being remanded due to a request for a Travel Board hearing.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's radiculopathy of the bilateral legs is not related to his service-connected right shoulder disability and thus, denied these claims.

The Board has granted service connection for fibromyalgia and assigned a noncompensable rating. The Veteran's left lower extremity radiculopathy is rated as 10 percent disabling.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment since December 4, 2003.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected lumbar spine disability was denied. The RO decreased the evaluation from 20% to 10%, effective August 30, 2010.

The Board has granted a 20 percent evaluation for the Veteran's right hip disability from March 27, 2007 to November 20, 2011. The evidence shows that abduction of the right hip was lost beyond 10 degrees during this period.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability and bilateral hip disability should be remanded to allow for additional development, including obtaining medical records and attempting to obtain all available service treatment records.

The Board found no evidence of a current bilateral hip disability or arthritis, and denied the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims, including obtaining updated VA examinations and attempting to obtain his up-to-date VA and private treatment records.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination to assess his claimed left hip condition and obtaining any pertinent VA treatment records.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to the submission of new VA treatment records and a request for updated records from the Leavenworth VA Medical Center.

The Veteran seeks service connection for a left hip disability. The Board has determined that additional development is required, including obtaining relevant medical records and clarifying the location of an in-service incident involving a jet engine backwash.

The Veteran's right hip disability is rated at 20 percent, and his right leg neuropathy is separately evaluated as a 10 percent disability. The Veteran does not have any service-connected disabilities that preclude him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's bilateral hip, knee, and left ankle disabilities were not found to be related to his service-connected cervical spine and thoracic spine disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for additional development, including new VA examinations and consideration of his service connection claims.