Hip decisions — 2020

The Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea, a left knee disorder, lumbar/thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease as secondary to the right knee disability, degenerative arthritis of the left knee as secondary to the right knee disability, and hip conditions (right and left) are all granted. The claim for service connection for sleep apnea is remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip and lumbar spine disabilities, as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability due to insufficient evidence. The VA needs to obtain the Veteran’s service treatment records from his periods of active duty in 2015 and 2017, seek any outstanding VA medical records related to his conditions, and schedule him for an examination by a clinician to determine if his disabilities are proximately due or aggravated by his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various knee and hip disabilities, as well as a right elbow disability. The reasons include needing to verify all periods of active service, obtaining missing DD-214s, and requesting additional medical opinions.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on multiple conditions have been withdrawn and are dismissed. The claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder has been reopened, but not granted.

Service connection for lumbar spine disability is granted. For the period beginning December 7, 2015, a 10 percent rating for left hip bursitis and non-compensable rating for limitation of extension are granted.

The Board denied service connection for a right hand condition, a right hip condition, and a left hip condition. The lumbar spine and cervical spine conditions were remanded.,Service connection was also denied for an acquired psychiatric condition including major depression, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

The Veteran's lumbar strain and obstructive sleep apnea have been granted service connection as secondary to his service-connected disabilities. However, the Veteran's hip condition, high blood pressure (hypertension), anemia, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have not met the criteria for service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for left and right hip disabilities, finding that the onset of these conditions occurred during active duty service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disability and right hip disability, finding that there is no evidence to support these conditions were incurred in or are related to his military service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to an inadequate January 2020 medical opinion and requests for additional records. The Veteran's left hip disability is being reviewed again with a new examiner.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension. The issues of service connection for a back condition, bilateral hip condition, and left ankle condition are remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeal for further development and consideration, including obtaining additional records related to his in-service assault on a Military Policeman. The issues of service connection and TDIU are also being addressed as they are interrelated with the threshold matter concerning the character of discharge.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his right hip replacement was granted. The claims for service connection for atrial fibrillation and incontinence/rectal bleeding were denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for back, left hip, and right hip disabilities have been dismissed. The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the current disabilities and service. The claim for OSA and headaches has been remanded to determine etiology.

The Veteran's right knee disability, diagnosed as degenerative joint disease, is related to his military service and has been granted.,An initial evaluation of 10 percent for hypertension has also been granted.

The Veteran's service-connected back and right hip disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, which has been granted as a total disability rating based on unemployability (TDIU).

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right hip disabilities, residuals of stroke, and vision loss disability have been reopened due to the submission of new evidence. The claims are now remanded for further development.,Service connection has been granted for residuals of stroke secondary to service-connected borderline hypertension.

The Veteran's right hip and bilateral knee conditions have been rated at the lowest possible levels. The Board has found that additional development is needed for these claims, including a remand to consider service connection for a bilateral foot disorder.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for a right ankle disability, right hip disability, and hernia due to uncertainty in the record regarding whether the Veteran was provided adequate opportunity to attend VA examinations. The examination is needed to determine if these conditions are related to military service or other factors.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of an examination and insufficient evidence to decide the claim. The Veteran's left hip disability is related to service, but further examination is needed.