Hip decisions — 2020

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and denied the remaining issues related to knee, hip, back, and neuropathy conditions. The left knee condition is found to have been aggravated by service beyond its natural progression.

The Board has granted service connection for seborrheic dermatitis and denied the remaining issues on appeal. Service connection is granted for lumbar spine degenerative disease, bilateral hip disability, bilateral knee disability, and bilateral ankle disability.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 100% since December 11, 2017. The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for a respiratory disorder and increased ratings for right hip, right knee, and left shoulder disabilities.

The Board has remanded the cases due to inadequate VA examination and medical opinions, requiring a new evaluation for the Veteran's bilateral foot, hip, knee, and ankle disabilities.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left hip conditions, as well as his request for an increased disability rating for his service-connected left knee arthritis prior to September 29, 2014. The Veteran was granted a separate disability rating of 10 percent for his service-connected left knee meniscal disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for COPD, multiple joint disabilities, and other service connection issues due to inadequate etiology opinions provided by VA examiners. The claims are being returned for further development.

The Board has decided to remand the issues of entitlement to service connection for bilateral elbow, hip, and ankle disabilities due to incomplete development. The Veteran needs to provide a VA Form 21-4142 to obtain private medical records from Dr. P.R., and additional VA examination or other evidence is needed.

The Veteran's back disability, left hip disability, right knee disability, migraine headaches, and hemorrhoids have been granted ratings. The back disability is rated at 20 percent, the left hip disability at a noncompensable rating, the right knee disability at a noncompensable rating, the migraine headaches at a 30 percent rating, and the hemorrhoids are not compensably rated.

The Board has granted service connection for low back and left hip disabilities, finding that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether these conditions were caused by or aggravated by active service.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection on multiple issues is being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right hip disability and right leg shortening, finding no current diagnosis of these conditions. The case is remanded to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of the claimed disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including bilateral ankle, lumbar, hip, and right knee disabilities, as well as a hernia and chronic left scrotum pain. The Board found no direct or secondary service connection due to lack of evidence supporting the claims.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various lower extremity disabilities, including lumbar spine disability, bilateral hip disabilities, and bilateral leg disabilities. The matter is being returned to the RO for further development.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hip and right ankle disabilities have been dismissed. The appeal for tinnitus has been granted. Appeals for initial ratings of anxiety disorder and CAD are being remanded.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence of unemployability based on service-connected disabilities, and referred it for extraschedular consideration.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for lower back, right knee, and right hip disabilities, as well as radiculopathies of the right and left lower extremities. The remand is due to concerns about the adequacy of a previous VA examiner's opinion regarding the etiology of these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left hip disability, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to the condition and noting that the Veteran's STRs did not show any complaints or abnormal pathology of the left hip. The Board also found that the Veteran's assertions linking his current hip disability to service were insufficient to trigger VA's obligation to obtain a medical opinion.

The Veteran's service connection for PTSD was granted with a 50% evaluation effective January 14, 2015. The Veteran is seeking an increased rating and/or an earlier effective date.

The Veteran's claims for service connection of right knee, left hip, and eye disabilities have been reopened. The Board finds that new and material evidence has been received to reopen these claims.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for increased evaluations in excess of 30 percent for her service-connected left and right hip disabilities, as she withdrew these claims prior to a decision.