Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2002

The Board denied service connection for low back and left hip disabilities due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to military service or a service-connected disability.

The Board found that the appellant did not have a back disorder or pulmonary disorder to include asthma and bronchitis as a result of active duty for training. The claim was denied.

The Board has granted a 40 percent rating for the veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease, finding severe limitation of motion. The current 10 percent rating for sinusitis and rhinitis is maintained.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is causally related to service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected low back disorder and cervical spine disorder has been granted, with effective dates set at June 19, 1990 for the lower back condition and December 20, 1993 for the cervical spine disorder.

The Board denied service connection for low back and right hip disorders in a 1989 decision, finding that the evidence did not support these conditions as being related to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's back and left leg disabilities are service-connected, with the benefit of doubt given to the claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disability, bilateral hearing loss, and fungal infection of hands and feet are all related to his active duty service.

The veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss, left hip disability, left leg disability, back disability, nicotine dependence, and prostate cancer as due to nicotine dependence or asbestos exposure are all denied. The claim for a total rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disability is also denied.

The Board has granted increased ratings for the veteran's thoracic back strain and myofascitis of the lumbar region, both currently rated at 10 percent.

The Board denied service connection for low back and right hip disorders in a 1989 decision, finding that the evidence did not support these conditions as being related to service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been presented to reopen the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disorder.

The veteran's claims for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder, higher initial evaluations for mechanical low back strain and left patellofemoral pain syndrome, and a 10% rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities were denied. The RO assigned noncompensable ratings to the low back and left knee conditions.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disability, manifested by severe limitation of motion and neurological findings including decreased strength, warrants a 50 percent evaluation.

The Board has jurisdiction over issues related to the evaluations for lumbar myositis, dorsal spine myositis and degenerative joint disease, right knee disability, and left knee disability. The evaluation of these conditions is mixed, with some granted and others not.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran's low back disorder was not incurred or aggravated during his military service and is not otherwise related to his military service. As a result, the claim for service connection for a low back disorder is denied.

The Board has granted a 40 percent rating for traumatic arthritis of the lumbar spine with history of compression fracture and a separate 10 percent rating for traumatic arthritis of the thoracic spine. The veteran's service-connected back condition is now rated as 50 percent overall.

The Board found that the veteran's current lumbar spine condition, diagnosed as spondylosis of the lumbar spine, a bulging disc at L4-L5 and lumbo-sacral strain with osteoarthritis, was not incurred in or aggravated during his active duty. The claim is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for TDIU and an extraschedular rating for his low back disability, finding that there was no evidence of marked industrial impairment or frequent hospitalizations due to his service-connected condition. The claim for a higher schedular rating was also denied.

The Board found no evidence of a bilateral knee disorder or degenerative joint disease of the jaw, cervical spine, lumbar spine, and shoulders that was incurred in service. The veteran's current conditions are not considered to be related to his military service.