The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hip disorder as secondary to degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with IVDS, finding that there was no evidence showing it was caused or aggravated by the service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The VA specialist's opinion indicated that the Veteran’s bilateral hip osteoarthritis is less likely due to his service-connected lumbar spine disability and more likely a result of natural progression of the disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hip osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19178282
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied higher ratings for left shoulder arthralgia and lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with DDD, granted service connection for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the lumbar spine disability, and remanded claims for increased ratings of other musculoskeletal conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for service connection for bilateral hip osteoarthritis and meralgia paresthetica, finding that there was no evidence to support a direct or secondary relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple musculoskeletal disabilities, including cervical spine degenerative disc disease and bilateral joint osteoarthritis, based on in-service exposure to PCBs.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left and right ankle disabilities manifested by pain, bilateral plantar fasciitis, and bilateral hip osteoarthritis.
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