Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) decisions — 2019

The Board has granted service connection for a left knee disability, including bursitis, popliteal cyst, and degenerative arthritis. The evidence shows the Veteran had symptoms since service and his current conditions are related to an in-service injury.

The Veteran's chronic headaches have been granted service connection based on continuity of symptomatology since active service.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, has been denied as there is no evidence it was incurred during or within one year after the Veteran's completion of active service.

The Veteran's right shoulder disability and TDIU claim are remanded for further evaluation, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his condition and additional functional loss due to pain.

The Board has denied service connection for right and left knee osteoarthritis as the evidence does not show that these conditions began during or were aggravated by military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability, including medial collateral ligament strain and osteoarthritis, is presumed to have been incurred during service due to a traumatic incident in basic training.

The Veteran's nonpainful residual scars of the left knee are currently rated as noncompensable.,The Veteran is seeking an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a painful residual scar of the left knee, but this claim has been denied.,A rating of 20 percent for an unstable and painful residual scar of the left knee since June 21, 2019 has been granted.,The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the left knee with recurrent instability is currently rated at 10 percent.,A rating of 30 percent for degenerative arthritis of the left knee with recurrent instability since June 21, 2019 has been granted.,The Veteran's painful motion with flexion of the left knee prior to July 8, 2019 is rated at 10 percent and a separate noncompensable rating for degenerative arthritis of the left knee with limited extension since June 21, 2019 has been granted.,The Veteran's service connection claim does not involve any presumption or exposure basis.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with arthritis left sacroiliac joint associated with right leg below the knee amputation is being remanded due to incomplete development. The Board will complete any ongoing development and readjudicate the case.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability is rated at 20 percent prior to June 20, 2018 and 40 percent from that date. The Board finds the evidence does not support a higher rating for any of his service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected right thumb laceration with sensory nerve injury is granted. The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the right knee is currently rated at 10 percent and remains unchanged.

The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disc disease, degenerative arthritis, and intervertebral disc syndrome of the lumbar spine as secondary to service-connected pes planus, and right knee arthritis and left knee arthritis as secondary to service-connected pes planus.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar and cervical spine disabilities due to a lack of current examination evidence.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his back disability, as the previous VA medical opinion was deficient in describing functional loss due to flare-ups.

The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine is granted as service connection due to in-service motor vehicle accident.,Service connection for fatigue due to an undiagnosed illness during active duty in Southwest Asia is granted. The Veteran has experienced continuous fatigue symptoms since service.,Residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are denied, with the opinion that memory loss is more likely related to posttraumatic stress disorder.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to January 7, 2016 for cervical strain, left shoulder strain with degenerative changes, and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine as his service connection claims were not received within the required timeframe.

The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for venous insufficiency and headaches, as well as the issue of increased initial ratings for lumbar spine multilevel degenerative disc and joint disease with bilateral sacroiliac joint osteoarthritis, impairment of the left and right thighs, limitation of extension of the left and right thighs, and limitation of flexion of the left and right thighs; and entitlement to a TDIU.,The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development including obtaining his Social Security Administration records and providing an addendum opinion regarding whether his headaches are at least as likely as not proximately due to his service-connected hypertension.