Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2003

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including GSWs to both legs and left thigh, heart disorder, lung disorder, kidney disorder, back disorder, hearing loss, foot disorder, and knee disorder. The appeal was not about service connection at all.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of entitlement to direct service connection for residuals of a low back injury and determined that new and material evidence had been submitted. The Board found that the veteran has a current lumbar spine disability related to an in-service motor vehicle accident, which is sufficient to grant service connection on a direct basis.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has remanded the case for further development and readjudication due to conflicting medical evidence regarding the severity of the veteran's low back disability. The veteran is entitled to a VA examination to determine the current nature, extent, and manifestations of his service-connected residuals of a low back injury.

The VA determined that the veteran's back disorder did not result from his participation in a VA compensated work therapy program, and thus denied his claim for compensation under Title 38 U.S.C. § 1151.

The veteran's appeal on the claim of service connection for a chronic low back disability has been dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board has reopened the appellant's claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disorder due to new and material evidence submitted since the September 1995 rating decision. However, the evidence does not support the grant of service connection as there is no competent medical evidence showing that the appellant has any current diagnosis relating to lumbar spine pathology.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected disabilities were denied. The residuals of a bilateral urethral transplant, secondary to pyelonephritis, are currently rated at 30 percent disabling; the scoliosis of the thoracic spine with degenerative spurring is rated at 10 percent disabling; and the scoliosis of the lumbar spine with degenerative spurings is also rated at 10 percent disabling.

The Board has granted a 70 percent evaluation for the veteran's postoperative right shoulder replacement, effective March 14, 1995. The lumbar spine disability remains at 60 percent.

The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's current low back disorder to his military service, and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative joint and disc disease of the cervical and lumbar spine were not incurred or aggravated by service, nor can they be presumed to have been incurred therein. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service medical records and arranging for VA examinations to determine the etiology of the claimed conditions.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability, which was previously denied in December 1980. The RO must now adjudicate the claim on its merits.

The Board granted a 60 percent evaluation for degenerative disc disease at L4-5, status post laminectomy times two, with loss of sensation in the right leg. The claim for service connection for a left knee disorder was not addressed as it was referred to the RO.

The Board has granted an increased evaluation of 10 percent for the veteran's low back disorder and a compensable evaluation (10 percent) for his skin disorder, effective from April 21, 2003.

The Board has granted service connection for arthritis of the low back but denied service connection for arthritis of the hips.

The Board found that the evidence does not support a finding that the veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is etiologically related to his service-connected left ankle disorder, and thus denied the claim.

The Board found that the veteran's low back disability was not incurred in or aggravated by his active duty service and is not related to any service-connected condition. Therefore, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's back disability is service-connected, with reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the claim.

The Board denied service connection for traumatic arthritis of the lumbar and thoracic spine, finding that there was no medical evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's back disorder and migraine headaches did not originate during her military service, and therefore denied service connection for these conditions.