Hip decisions — 2023

The Veteran's claims for bruxism (grinding of teeth) and temporomandibular joint disorder have been denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.,The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including generalized anxiety disorder, has not resulted in a compensable rating due to insufficient evidence of current disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability, low back disability, and right hip disability. The decision found no new and material evidence to reopen any of these claims.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, serous otitis media, and several other conditions were denied. The appeals for increased ratings for hearing loss and scars, as well as the effective date claims for serous otitis media and scars were also denied.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete records and need for additional examinations. The appeals will be reconsidered after obtaining missing service personnel records, post-service treatment records, and arranging for new VA examinations.

The appeals for service connection for high cholesterol, heart valve disorder, left hip disability, right hip disability, obstructive sleep apnea, and back disability are dismissed. The Veteran's request to reopen his previously denied claim for service connection for a heart valve disorder is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee, hip, and low back disabilities have been reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The cases are now remanded for further examination and development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left hip disabilities have been reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence.,Service connection has also been granted for vertigo.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence and needs additional examination of the appellant's left hip disability.

The Veteran's hiatal hernia is rated at 30% from January 20, 2012 and 60% as of April 14, 2023. Service connection for left hip disability, right hip disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability are all denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, right shoulder, and left hip disabilities due to insufficient examination reports.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a retrospective opinion regarding his hip disabilities prior to April 10, 2012. The examiner is requested to provide a full description of the disabilities and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating them under the rating criteria.

The Board has determined that additional examinations and opinions are needed for the Veteran's hip, neck, left foot, and right foot disabilities due to incomplete or insufficient medical evidence.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left foot disabilities, as well as right and left hip disabilities, are being remanded due to the need for additional examination and evaluation.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for fibromyalgia is also being remanded due to the need for additional examination and evaluation.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to determine if service connection can be established for a traumatic brain injury, bilateral hip condition, and back condition.

The Board has denied service connection for right shin splints, left shin splints, right knee disability, left knee disability, right hip disability, and left hip disability as there is no credible evidence linking these conditions to military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to April 18, 2017, for increased disability ratings of his back, left shoulder, right shoulder, left hip, and right hip disabilities.

The Board has determined that the VA medical opinions are inadequate and requires updated medical opinions to determine if the Veteran's bilateral knee and hip disabilities are related to active service or a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip and left knee disabilities due to his failure to appear at scheduled VA examinations. The Veteran is seeking service connection for these conditions as secondary to his service-connected right hip arthralgia.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for GERD, lumbar spine condition, left hip condition, and right hip condition as secondary to his service-connected disability of right ankle strain due to conflicting medical opinions and lack of a clear nexus.

The Veteran's hypertension was not manifested by diastolic pressure predominantly 100 or more or systolic pressure predominantly 160 or more during the appeal period, thus no compensable rating is warranted.,The Veteran's left hand fracture/long finger disability did not result in a gap of one inch (2.5 cm) or more between the fingertip and the proximal transverse crease of the palm with the finger flexed to the extent possible; nor was there limitation of extension limited by no more than 30 degrees, thus no compensable rating is warranted.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss cannot be established as the Veteran did not have a current disability at any time during or approximate to the pendency of the claim.,Service connection for a left hip disability cannot be established as the Veteran did not have a current disability at any time during or approximate to the pendency of the claim.,Service connection for a left wrist joint pain (not service-connected) cannot be established as there is no evidence of a current disability.,Service connection for right testicular mass cannot be established as there is no evidence of a current disability.,Service connection for contact dermatitis (legs, face, neck) cannot be established as there is no evidence of a current disability.