Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2001

The Board has determined that the appellant's lumbar strain warrants a 10 percent rating, but denied reopening of her claim for service connection due to headaches as new and material evidence was not presented. The decision is mixed since one issue was granted (lumbar strain) and another was not (headaches).

The Board has found new and material evidence to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection of migraine headaches with blackouts, bilateral knee disorder, and low back disorder. The veteran's current conditions are deemed to have been incurred during his military service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted, allowing the claim to be reopened. However, the evidence does not support a finding of service connection for the veteran's low back disorder.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service connection claim for residuals of status post C5-C6 anterior cervical diskectomy fusion with left iliac graft is granted. However, her request to reopen a claim for lumbar spine injuries was denied as no new and material evidence was submitted.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's back disability, finding that it is related to a fall during active duty and early degenerative joint disease.

The Board has determined that the effective dates for the increased evaluations of the thoracolumbar kyphoscoliosis with low back pain disability and major depression disability should be October 7, 1998.

The Board has determined that the appellant's service-connected disabilities, including her anxiety neurosis and lumbar spine injury, prevent her from securing or following substantially gainful employment. Therefore, a total disability rating based on individual unemployability is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for a low back disability as secondary to the veteran's service-connected post-medial meniscectomy of the left knee.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for a herniated disc in the lumbar spine, which is secondary to his service-connected left knee condition.

The veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine is productive of symptoms that are suggestive of a pronounced disability picture overall, including x-ray evidence of severe degenerative changes and significant pain with range of motion testing. The Board has determined that there is a basis for a 60 percent evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5293.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for a back disorder, finding no clear and unmistakable error in the August 1975 rating decision. The effective date for the grant of service connection was not assigned as requested.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for hearing loss and found that new and material evidence had not been submitted sufficient to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disability. The appeal is now remanded for further development.

The Board found that the veteran's low back and right shoulder disorders were not incurred in or aggravated by his period of active duty.

The veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for his service-connected lumbar spine disability was granted, with the effective date set at March 13, 2000. The temporary total rating based on convalescence after surgery in February 1995 is moot.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling examinations. The case will be reviewed in light of any new evidence received.

The veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disorder and an increased rating for residuals of a sacroiliac injury are pending. The RO denied the veteran's claim for service connection, but granted him a 20 percent disability rating for his existing condition.

The Board has granted a 20 percent evaluation for the appellant's service-connected lumbosacral strain, effective from the date of the RO's May 1995 rating action.

The Board denied an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for the veteran's lumbosacral strain disability with degenerative disc disease and spondylosis, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board found that the veteran's right knee instability, lumbar strain, and degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine do not warrant evaluations in excess of the currently assigned 10 percent ratings.

The Board has determined that the veteran's lumbosacral strain, superimposed on congenital malformation warrants a 40 percent evaluation.