Hip decisions — 2017

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle disabilities. The primary reason is that there are no current diagnoses of these conditions.

The Board finds that the Veteran's right hip disability is not related to his military service and denies the claim.

The Veteran's service connection claims for a right hip disability and stomach disability, to include as secondary to service-connected lumbosacral spine degenerative disc disease, are denied. The claim for TDIU is inextricably intertwined with the stomach disability claim.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left hip disability, fatigue, diarrhea, and joint pain. The decision found no left hip disability during the pendency of the claim, and the criteria for an increased rating were not met for the undiagnosed illnesses.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and major depression. The claim for a right hip disability is pending and will be remanded for further examination. The TDIU claim remains pending.

The Board has found that the Veteran's current right hip, bilateral knee, and back disabilities are related to active service. The claims for these conditions have been granted.

The Board has remanded the case to obtain an addendum opinion regarding whether the Veteran's lumbar spine and bilateral hip disabilities were aggravated by his service-connected posttraumatic Achilles tendinitis of the left ankle. The issues of service connection for these conditions remain pending.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability, right knee replacement, bilateral hip disability, and left foot disability have been denied. The Veteran is not entitled to a compensable rating for his hearing loss, nor does he meet the criteria for TDIU.,Service connection has also been denied for the Veteran's right knee replacement, bilateral hip disability, and left foot disability.

The Board found that the Veteran's current low back and right hip disabilities did not have their onset during service or are otherwise related to his in-service injuries, and thus denied service connection for those conditions on a direct basis. The Board also found that there was no evidence of secondary service connection based on the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for multiple joint pain, including as due to an undiagnosed illness or other qualifying chronic disability pursuant to 38 U.S.C.A. � 1117 is being remanded for additional development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability and bilateral hip disability are not related to service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for type II and type I diabetes, bilateral hand disability, low back disability, right knee disability, right hip disability, bilateral wrist disability, and neurological disorder of the lower extremities have been denied as there is no evidence of in-service exposure to herbicide agents or a link between these conditions and service. The Veteran's claims for increased rating for onychomycosis and dental disorder are dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran.

The Board has granted service connection for left and right hip disabilities, as well as an acquired psychiatric disability (generalized anxiety disorder and dysthymic disorder), all of which are found to be related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hip and knee conditions did not manifest during service or within one year of separation from service, and are not due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hip pain, hypertension, and bilateral knee disability are not service-connected as they did not begin during or were not caused by his military service.

The Board denied service connection for right thigh and right hip disabilities as there was no current disability during the appeal period.

The Board found that the Veteran's current disabilities of the left ankle, bilateral knees, lung, right shoulder, and right hip are not due to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness. The preponderance of the competent medical evidence is against a finding that these conditions were incurred in service or as secondary to a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's service-connected left hip disability precluded him from securing and following substantially gainful employment for the entire appeal period, leading to a TDIU rating on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's right shoulder disability, diagnosed as scapulocostal syndrome, impingement, and bursitis of the right shoulder, was incurred in active service.,The Veteran's left hip disability is not attributable to service. The right hip disability is attributed to inservice injury but is not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected cervical spine disability.