Hip decisions — 2018

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected foot disabilities may have caused or aggravated his right hip and right knee disabilities, but further medical examination is needed to clarify this relationship.

The Veteran's PTSD symptoms are found to be related to his service-connected adjustment disorder with depressed mood. Service connection for PTSD is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection of various disabilities, including PTSD and TBI residuals, were denied. The Board found no current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disability during the appeal period.

The Board has remanded the claims for right hip disability, ankle disabilities, and a multiple non-compensable service-connected disabilities claim due to incomplete evaluations and lack of adequate medical opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's current conditions and his service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for spondylosis at L5-S1, left hip condition, and left thigh condition due to incomplete development of evidence and need for further medical opinions.

The Board has remanded several issues related to service connection and rating for various disabilities, including tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, numbness in the right hand, bilateral knee disability, left hip disability, spinal meningitis, and sleep apnea. The effective dates for these issues are not addressed as they are being remanded.

The Board denied service connection for amebiasis, peripheral neuropathy, right hip disability, arthritis (all joints), and periodontal disease. The claims were remanded for further development in some cases.

The Veteran withdrew all issues on appeal, including those related to service connection for various disabilities. As a result, the Board dismissed these claims.

The Board has granted service connection for right shoulder, bilateral wrist, low back, bilateral hip, left knee, and bilateral ankle disabilities. These conditions are deemed to be related to military service.

Your claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for further development and consideration of new evidence.

The Veteran's left hip and right knee conditions are granted as secondary to his service-connected left knee condition. A rating of 30 percent for limited extension of the left knee prior to May 7, 2014 is granted.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including left and right knee disabilities, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, back disability, hip disabilities, ankle disabilities, sleep apnea, inguinal hernia, psychiatric disorders, and dyslipidemia. The appeals are pending due to insufficient evidence or need for further evaluation.

The Board has determined that additional medical examinations and opinions are needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including bilateral hip disability, left shoulder disability, low back disability, bilateral flat feet, bilateral eye disability (claimed as due to blunt trauma), and skin disability (pseudofolliculitis barbae).

The decision partially denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of a right hip condition and TDIU, remanding both issues due to insufficient evidence. The reduction in left hip disability rating from 10% to noncompensable was found improper.

The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C was granted with an effective date of November 17, 2011. The Board has reopened the previously denied claim and assigned a 20 percent rating for hepatitis C.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right hip disabilities, cervical spine disability, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) due to duty-to-assist errors. The AOJ is required to obtain additional medical opinions regarding whether these conditions are proximately due or aggravated by service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that a new VA examination is necessary to determine the presence and etiology of TBI, as well as any current hip disabilities. The Veteran's service records indicate he was struck by a grenade in March 1969, but his memory of this event is unclear. His recent testimony suggests he may have been unconscious after the incident. For hip disabilities, VA treatment records show bilateral hip pain and deficits in strength and motion limitations.

The Board has denied service connection for a heart disability and remanded the issues of service connection for left hip, right hip, and bilateral pes planus disabilities due to lack of evidence supporting these claims.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left shoulder, hip, and lumbar spine disabilities as well as his claim of entitlement to an increased rating for herpes simplex. The Veteran's psychiatric disability claim is also being remanded.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for flatfoot and the issues of increased ratings for bilateral great toe onychomycosis, PTSD and allergic rhinitis have been dismissed.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for diarrhea (claimed as irritable bowel syndrome) has been granted.