Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2003

The VA determined that the veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with mild arthritis does not warrant a rating higher than 20 percent.

The Board granted a 40 percent rating for mechanical low back pain effective October 22, 1999. The right heel bone spur was rated at 10 percent prior to this decision and remains at that level.

The veteran's injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident are not compensable under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board determined that the veteran's low back disability was not incurred in or aggravated by military service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence was not submitted to reopen claims of service connection for a back disorder and headaches. The veteran's statements linking his current conditions to military service are considered insufficient medical opinion.

The RO denied increased ratings for low back disability, right knee surgery, and contact dermatitis of the hands, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board found that the veteran's multiple joint pain due to an undiagnosed illness did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation than 20 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's appeals for increased evaluations for his service-connected disabilities, finding that the May 1975 rating decision was not clearly and unmistakably erroneous in granting service connection for shell fragment wounds to the right lower back and buttock with retained foreign bodies. The RO also found that the veteran did not meet criteria for a compensable evaluation for postoperative colostomy. Increased evaluations were denied.

The Board denied service connection for thoracic spine disability, back disability including degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, and incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder and TDIU due to lack of evidence showing a link between his current condition and military service.

The Board denied the claim of service connection for a knee disability and denied a claim for a higher evaluation for post-operative residuals of ingrown toenails. The decision also confirmed and continued a previously assigned 10 percent rating for lumbosacral strain.

The veteran's traumatic arthritis of the lumbosacral spine is rated at 20 percent, and his pseudofolliculitis barbae is rated at 10 percent. These ratings are granted.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee disability and low back disability do not warrant increased ratings beyond the current 20 percent evaluations.

The Board found that the veteran's current low back pain is not related to his military service, including a fall during active duty for training in 1985. The Board concluded that any chronic condition identified was not incurred or aggravated by service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims of service connection for right shoulder, neck, low back, and leg problems as secondary to his service-connected partial amputation of the distal middle finger. The VA examiner found no evidence that these conditions were related to the service-connected disability.

The Board found that the veteran's claimed conditions, including bronchitis, otitis media, left ankle disorder, low back disorder, and gall bladder removal, were not incurred in or aggravated by active service. The veteran's right ankle disability was also denied.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 40 percent for the veteran's low back disorder prior to September 23, 2002.

The Board found that there was no competent medical evidence relating the veteran's current degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine to his military service.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and right ear disorder due to new evidence submitted since the last denial. The claims for a bilateral shoulder disability, back disorder, left knee disability, residuals of Agent Orange exposure, and dental condition are all pending.

The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the veteran's lumbosacral spine disability and assigned an initial compensable evaluation (10%) for his degenerative changes of the thoracic spine.