Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2005

The Board found that the veteran's low back disability is proximately due to and the result of his service-connected left knee disability, granting service connection for this condition.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a head injury, acquired eye disorder, and low back disorder due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's arthritis of the low back and right pelvic fracture are not service connected, as there is no evidence showing a current disability related to service or a service-connected condition. The claim for a compensable evaluation for the right pelvic fracture was also denied.

The Board found that the veteran's multiple joint pain, including his low back and bilateral ankles, knees, and great toes, is not related to his military service.

The VA determined that there is no competent evidence linking the current low back disorder to service, including within one year of discharge.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including neuropathy/carpal tunnel syndrome, a low back disorder, bilateral knee disorders, and bilateral foot disorders. The decision found that there was no evidence of current disabilities or etiological links to military service.

The Board found no evidence of a current lumbar spine disorder related to service or service-connected conditions, and denied the veteran's claims for direct and secondary service connection.

The Board denied entitlement to an effective date prior to February 26, 1992 for the grant of service connection for right hip degenerative joint disease.,The Board also denied entitlement to an effective date prior to May 22, 1997 for the grant of service connection for lumbosacral strain, degenerative disc disease, and degenerative joint disease with radiculopathy.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for hypertension/cardiovascular disease, back disability, and seasonal allergy due to a lack of timely appeal following the October 1998 rating decision.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed lumbar spine, bilateral shoulder, elbow, and hand disabilities are not service-connected as they are not shown to be related to his military service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected hypertension, cervical strain with degenerative disc disease, and residuals of low back injury. The RO assigned a 10 percent rating for hypertension effective from July 22, 1999.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for increased ratings for his shell fragment wound residuals and prostate cancer, finding that the symptoms are primarily due to non-service-connected cervical spine degenerative disc disease.

The veteran's claims for service connection and a higher initial rating for the service-connected retropatellar pain syndrome of the left knee were granted, with an effective date of November 21, 2002. The issue of service connection for a right knee disability was also granted.

The August 19, 1947 rating decision incorrectly assigned a zero percent rating for the veteran's service-connected fracture of the transverse process of the 5th lumbar vertebra. The RO has now determined that this condition warrants a 40 percent disability rating.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for additional development and adjudication, including obtaining any outstanding medical records and clarifying whether the veteran desires an RO hearing.

The Board found that the veteran's back disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that a VA examination is necessary to determine the nature, etiology, severity, and date of onset of the veteran's back disability. The case will be remanded for this purpose.

The veteran's application for Service Disabled Veterans Insurance (RH) was denied because he is not in 'good health' according to the standards established by the VA, as his non-service-connected disabilities exceed the threshold of 300 percent mortality.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU due to incomplete development of the record, including failure to provide applicable rating criteria and a VA examination.

The Board found no evidence of a low back injury or hypertension during service, and concluded that any current conditions are not related to service. The veteran's current low back degenerative joint disease is attributed to non-service-related trauma.