Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2000

The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied. The claim for a psychiatric disorder was reopened, but the new evidence did not establish service connection. Claims for lung, low back, hearing loss, tinnitus, irritable bowel syndrome, and carbon tetrachloride exposure were also denied.

The Board found that the appellant's current foot and back disorders are not related to his service, as there is no evidence of a connection between his in-service injury and his present disabilities.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic low back disorder during service or within one year after discharge, and concluded that the current condition is not related to service. The claim for service connection was denied.

The veteran died by suicide in July 1993. The cause of death is not service-connected, and the appellant cannot establish eligibility for dependents' educational assistance under Chapter 35.

The veteran's mechanical low back pain is currently rated at 10 percent, the maximum available under the rating schedule. The RO has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for right ankle, right knee disorder and back disorders are not well grounded.

The Board has determined that the veteran's chronic low back disability warrants a 40 percent evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5292, based on severe limitation of motion and associated pain.

The veteran's DJD of the lumbosacral spine with pain on motion and X-ray involvement of the thoracic spine was rated at 10 percent prior to October 28, 1998.,From October 28, 1998, the veteran's DJD of the lumbar spine with limitation of motion is rated at 20 percent.,The veteran's DJD of the thoracic spine remains rated at 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, and back disability are all service-connected. These conditions were incurred during his period of active duty.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disorder and left knee disorder are not related to his military service. The claim for a low back disorder is denied, while the claim for a left knee disorder remains closed as no new and material evidence was submitted.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected lumbar fusion at L5 and S1 was granted, with a rating of 100 percent on an extraschedular basis due to the severity of his disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, a bilateral ankle disorder, and a back disorder are not well grounded. The evidence does not support a causal relationship between these conditions and either service or a service-connected disability.

The Board has granted a higher initial evaluation of 20 percent for the veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease, L4-L5, with bulging disc at L5-S1 and a small herniated disc at levels L4-L5 with mild spinal stenosis.

The VA denied an increased evaluation for the veteran's service-connected low back disability, currently rated at 40 percent.

The veteran's TDIU was granted effective March 16, 2000. The RO found that the veteran had met the schedular criteria for consideration of a TDIU claim and there was evidence of current service-connected unemployability in his claims file.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of May 30, 1990 for his award of total rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disability. The evidence did not show any factor outside the usual that would support a basis for TDIU.

The Board denied the veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for a low back disorder, finding no new and material evidence. The decision is based on the lack of direct or secondary evidence linking the current condition to military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of service connection for a back condition and prostate condition are not well grounded, as there is no evidence of chronic conditions in service or during an applicable period. The current disabilities do not have a clear link to the inservice complaints.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for a rash and sinusitis, as well as his requests for higher evaluations for left and right elbow disabilities and hearing loss disability in the left ear. The appeal was dismissed due to an inadequate substantive appeal.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected thoraco-lumbar strain and left ankle strain, finding that the current evaluations adequately reflect the severity of these conditions.