Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2001

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to conflicting medical evidence regarding the connection between the veteran's service, his service-connected back disability, a psoas abscess, and osteomyelitis.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right toe disorder, back disorder, and right shoulder disorder. The claim for bilateral knee disability was granted with a 10 percent evaluation.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder and special monthly pension benefits due to lack of evidence linking his current condition to military service.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension due to lack of evidence showing it was incurred in or aggravated by active military service, nor could it be presumed to have been so incurred.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine disability due to new medical evidence submitted since the last final denial. The case is now remanded for further development.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for gallbladder removal, lumbosacral strain, patellar realignment of the right knee, and patellar realignment of the left knee. The evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions warranted an evaluation in excess of 10 percent.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his low back and cervical spine disabilities.

The Board affirmed a reduction in disability rating from 60 percent to 40 percent for degenerative disk disease of the lumbosacral spine and also affirmed termination of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability. The veteran is alleging CUE in both decisions.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for her right and left foot disabilities, as well as her lumbosacral strain disability, were denied. The veteran's claim for service connection for cervical strain was not addressed in this decision.

The veteran's PTSD is currently manifested by occasional flashbacks and sleep disturbances, with a GAF score of 70. The RO has granted service connection for PTSD and assigned a 30 percent evaluation.

The Board finds that the veteran's low back pain is related to his service-connected disability of residuals injury right knee with traumatic arthritis, and thus grants secondary service connection for the low back pain.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected arteriosclerotic heart disease, with history of myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass grafts, prior to May 13, 1999, was denied. The RO found that the current 30 percent evaluation adequately reflects the severity of the veteran's disability.

The veteran's claim for compensation benefits under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for a left shoulder disorder, a low back disorder, a disorder of the middle back, and a neck disorder resulting from VA treatment in December 1985 is being remanded due to new legal requirements.

The Board has granted a higher rating of 40 percent for the veteran's service-connected low back pain with L5 radicular pain, effective from February 24, 1999.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability due to new and material evidence submitted in 1999. The case is now on remand for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling an examination.

The VA has granted the requested disability evaluations for the veteran's conditions, with some changes in ratings and effective dates.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the residuals of a lumbar spine injury and a 10 percent rating for the residuals of a tongue laceration, both effective from October 19, 1994. The veteran's claims for earlier effective dates have been denied.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's low back disability, finding that his current condition is related to injuries sustained during service and subsequent surgery.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development under the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000. The claims for service connection and increased evaluation will be reconsidered.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for sinusitis, back disability, and hypertension. The decision also addressed whether new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen previously denied claims for these conditions.