Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2000

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for residuals of injury to the right forearm are well-grounded. The RO should schedule a VA examination coincident with a flare-up in his skin disorders and ensure all pertinent medical evidence is associated with the claims file.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of spondylolysis of the lumbar spine with limitation of motion was denied as there is no legal basis to award a prior effective date.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including upper respiratory infection and sinusitis, left knee strain, left ear disability, corneal abrasion of the right eye, low back strain, urinary tract infection, reaction to typhoid vaccination, and myopia. The initial evaluation for her service-connected panic disorder without agoraphobia is also denied.

The veteran's claim for a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes was denied as his disabilities did not meet the criteria for such a rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection and evaluations for conjunctivitis with vision loss, costochondritis, and low back pain. The appeals were not well-grounded.

The Board has determined that the appellant's claim for service connection for a back disorder is denied as there is no competent evidence of a nexus between his current back disabilities and inservice disease or injury.

The veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain is currently rated at 20 percent, and the Board has denied an increased rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine warrants a 40 percent evaluation, which is more than the current 20 percent rating.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected lumbar degenerative disc disease with left S1 radiculopathy was denied. His claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was also denied.

The veteran's appeal is on whether he should receive increased disability evaluations for his service-connected DDD, DJD and chronic lumbosacral strain. The RO has requested additional medical records and will conduct further examinations to determine the current level of disability.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or special home adaptations benefits.

The veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, a psychiatric disability other than PTSD, right ear hearing loss, gastritis, and muscle tension/migraine headaches have not been well grounded. The claim for low back sprain has been granted with a 20% rating, while the claim for right knee disability has been granted with a 10% rating.

The VA determined that the veteran's postoperative lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome with left lumbar radiculopathy does not warrant a rating higher than 40 percent.

The veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for a low back disability was successful, and he is now entitled to an effective date of December 13, 1995.

The Board has remanded the case due to the veteran's failure to report for a requested hearing. The claims for service connection for low back condition and insomnia are still pending.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for increased evaluations for her lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease at L5-S1 and cervicitis, finding that the current ratings adequately reflected the severity of her conditions.

The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's service-connected low back strain and right quadriceps atrophy with knee disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine condition and found that the initial 20% rating assigned for his chronic lumbar strain with thoracolumbar scoliosis was appropriate.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected low back strain with sciatic neuritis due to a herniated intervertebral disc at L5-S1 is being remanded for additional development, including VA orthopedic and neurologic examinations.

The Board denied reopening the claim for migraine headaches, but granted increased ratings of 10% for both low back disability and left foot disability. The veteran's testimony regarding his disabilities was considered in determining these decisions.