Hip decisions — 2020

The Board has determined that the VA examinations provided for the Veteran's leg, hip, heel/foot, back, and neck disabilities were inadequate. Additional development is required to address these claims due to the lack of a proper nexus opinion regarding the etiology of the claimed conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right foot, left foot, right hip, left hip, and low back conditions, finding that there is at least a 50% likelihood that these conditions are related to his active duty service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right hip conditions due to insufficient rationale in the previous VA examination.

The Board denied service connection for a right hip disability, finding that the Veteran's current condition is not causally or etiologically related to his military service and is not caused by or aggravated by a service-connected disability.

Service connection is granted for a right shoulder disability.,Service connection is denied for bilateral hand, wrists, hip, knee, elbow, ankle, and foot disabilities.,Service connection is denied for lumbar spine and cervical spine disabilities.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for lower back, right shoulder, right knee, right foot, and right hip disabilities due to missing service treatment records. The Veteran should be afforded VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his current disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a right hip disability and an acquired psychiatric disorder have been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral hip disability, finding that there was no evidence of a hip disorder during or immediately following active service and concluding that any current hip condition is more likely due to natural aging rather than military service.

The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, neck disability, and left hip disability due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's active service.

The Board denied service connection for cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, bilateral shoulder, hip, knee and hand/finger disabilities as they were not shown to be related to service.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability, finding no evidence of chronic right knee condition in service or within the applicable presumptive period. The Board also found that there was not sufficient evidence to establish a link between the current right knee disability and any service-connected conditions. Service connection for left hip disability is remanded due to duty to assist error.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right hip disability, finding no evidence of chronic right hip disability in service or within one year following discharge from service. The Veteran's current right hip disability is not related to his military service.

The Veteran's left hip disability, rated as 10% since August 16, 2012, and his low back disability, rated as 40% since March 1, 2013, are granted. A separate 10% rating is granted for limitation of adduction in the left hip. The Veteran's TDIU claim prior to June 12, 2011, is also granted.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right and left hip disabilities, finding that they are caused or aggravated by his service-connected knee disabilities. Service connection was also remanded for a lumbar spine disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine, back, bilateral shoulder, bilateral knee, and bilateral hip disabilities, as well as service connection for migraines and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The claims are being returned to the RO for further development.

The Board has found that the Veteran's service treatment records are missing and incomplete, leading to inadequate VA examinations based on incorrect factual premises. The Board is remanding the case for further development including obtaining missing STRs and providing proper notice.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left hip disabilities, finding that there is no evidence to support a nexus between these conditions and his service or service-connected bilateral knee disability.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left hip disabilities due to deficiencies in the May 2019 VA medical opinion, lack of consideration of lay statements regarding onset of symptoms, and improper reliance on absence of evidence.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims of reopening service connection for right hip condition, left hip condition, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus as they were erroneously placed on the docket through the appeals modernization process.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of a bilateral hip disability, earlier effective dates for right knee conditions, and ratings in excess of those currently assigned. The decision also denied his claim for TDIU.