Hip decisions — 2023

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability and a right hip disability, but denied service connection for a right leg disability.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee osteoarthritis, left hip femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, right hip disability manifested by pain, and degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine as secondary to service-connected bilateral pes planus with left foot plantar fasciitis.

The Veteran's PTSD warrants a disability rating of 50 percent, but no higher. The left ear hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating. Multiple service connection claims are remanded.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection of left and right hip disabilities due to inadequate rationale in previous medical opinions. The AOJ is required to obtain an addendum opinion addressing whether these disabilities are proximately due or aggravated by service-connected knee and/or pes planus disabilities.

The Board has denied service connection for left hip disability, but granted service connection for right hip strain, lumbosacral strain, and bilateral plantar fasciitis as secondary to service-connected PTSD and bilateral knee disabilities.,Reasoning: The private medical opinions provided a link between the Veteran's obesity (an intermediate step) and his current conditions of bilateral plantar fasciitis and right hip strain.

The Veteran's combined service-connected rating is at least 40 percent, effective March 29, 2016. The Board finds that the Veteran meets the schedular criteria for consideration of TDIU and has been found to be unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities since March 5, 2018.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip, right hip, and right knee conditions due to a duty-to-assist error in previous medical opinions.

The Board denied service connection for a right hip condition, right knee condition, and left knee condition. Service connection was granted for bilateral pes planus.,Service connection for a back condition was not established.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for back, right hip, and right knee conditions due to insufficient evidence of record.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received sufficient to reopen the claim for entitlement to service connection for a low back condition. The claims for neck, right wrist, right hip, right ankle, and bilateral foot disabilities are remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that additional medical examination and opinion are needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right knee disabilities and service connection for his bilateral hip disabilities.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right hip disability, including as due to a service-connected disability. The evidence does not support finding an etiological link between his current right hip disability and active service or any incident of service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for recurrent knee, lumbar spine, and hip disabilities due to inadequate examinations and the need for further development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for back, right knee, left knee, and left hip disabilities, as well as his rhinitis and sinus headaches. The issues are being remanded to obtain additional medical opinions addressing the relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's service.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left hip condition, finding that it is at least as likely as not incurred in or caused by his military service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine, bilateral knee, and bilateral hip disabilities due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back condition. The bilateral hip condition is remanded due to incomplete records.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right hip disability. The appeal regarding coronary artery disease (claimed as heart condition) is remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations and opinions regarding his neck, back, right hip disabilities, diabetes mellitus, and balance issues. The claims are also remanded to determine if the service-connected left varicocele caused or aggravated these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been denied as there is no current diagnosis of the claimed conditions, or they are not related to his service-connected disabilities.