Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2001

The Board has granted a 60 percent evaluation for the veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc disease and hypertrophic spondylosis, effective as of March 29, 1989.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to March 5, 1990, for a total schedular disability rating for organic brain syndrome with PTSD and paranoid psychosis. The decision found that entitlement did not arise before receipt of the March 5, 1990 claim.

The Board determined that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability. The case was remanded by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) in April 1998, who ordered the RO to contact the Los Angeles VAMC and request all of the veteran's treatment records, including those from prior to 1992.

The veteran is seeking service connection for a low back disability, which the Board has remanded due to inadequate examination and incomplete medical records.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to September 14, 1994, for service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease. The decision states that the earliest possible effective date is September 14, 1994.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the appellant's lumbar muscle strain with degenerative changes at L5-S1, effective from March 27, 2000.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected neck and low back disorders do not warrant increased ratings as they are currently evaluated.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's left shoulder disorder, including arthritis, as aggravated by his service. The other issues on appeal will be addressed in a separate remand.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for myalgia of the thoracolumbar spine is granted, with a current evaluation of 10 percent. The claims for service connection and TDIU are denied.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim and is granting service connection for a low back disorder, finding new and material evidence to support his claim. The case will be remanded for further development of medical records.

The veteran's request for Service Disabled Veterans Insurance (RH) is inextricably intertwined with his claims for service connection for various disabilities. The appeal of eligibility for RH is held in abeyance pending resolution of the service connection claims.

The veteran's low back disability, characterized by severe degenerative joint disease, neurological impairment, and fusion in the lumbar spine, has been granted a 60 percent evaluation effective January 27, 1999.

The veteran's disabilities are all nonservice-connected and do not meet the criteria for special monthly pension based on need for regular aid and attendance or by reason of being housebound.

The Board denied the veteran's request to reopen his claim for service connection due to lack of new and material evidence, concluding that the submitted medical records did not establish a relationship between the back complaints noted in service in 1965 and the subsequent disc herniation in 1988.

The Board has determined that the submitted evidence is not new and material, thus denying the veteran's application to reopen his claim of service connection for a low back disorder.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for mechanical low back pain with bilateral knee pain and lower extremity numbness due to new evidence submitted since the July 1996 denial. The claim is now pending on its merits.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for chronic low back pain and spondylosis of the lumbar spine with multi-level spinal stenosis, finding that the evidence does not support a grant of service connection.

The veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent, which reflects the severity of his symptoms including back pain and limitation of motion. The RO has granted a separate 10 percent rating for degenerative arthritis.

The VA denied an increased rating for the veteran's service-connected degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with disc disease, status post lumbar laminectomy.

The Board denied the veteran's service connection claims for various conditions, including low back disability, major depression, memory loss, mood swings, and sleeplessness due to an undiagnosed illness, joint pain due to an undiagnosed illness, testicular cancer (to include as secondary to Persian Gulf War service), loss of appetite due to an undiagnosed illness, impotence due to an undiagnosed illness, constipation due to an undiagnosed illness, postoperative residuals of a lipoma of the left infrascapular area, and blood in the bowels due to an undiagnosed illness. The Board found that there was no evidence supporting these claims.