Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2006

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for back and shoulder disabilities, finding no evidence of current disability related to events in service.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a low back disability. The veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 70 percent disabling, but the Board denied an increased rating and did not address the issue of whether there was clear and unmistakable error in previous decisions.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for increased ratings for PTSD, Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine, and Bilateral Hearing Loss have been denied as there is no evidence to support a higher rating under the applicable criteria.

The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the service-connected residuals of a left knee injury with degenerative joint disease and assigned a separate 10 percent rating for tinnitus. The claims for bilateral hearing loss and low back disorder were also granted.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disability, an increased evaluation for his lumbar spine disability, and initial evaluations in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the lower extremities. The TDIU claim was also denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and will re-adjudicate the claim after obtaining new opinions.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for additional development, including obtaining medical records and a special examination. The veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder will be reconsidered based on the new evidence.

The veteran's bilateral pes planus is rated as mild and not service-connected. The right shoulder disorder and low back disorder are also not service-connected.

The Board has granted a 60% rating for the veteran's service-connected left knee hemiarthroplasty, but denied his claim for secondary service connection of a low back disorder to his bilateral knee disabilities.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disability warrants a 60 percent rating, which is the highest available under the old criteria for strains and intervertebral disc syndrome (IDS).

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disability and headaches did not begin during service or due to disease or injury in service, thus denying his claims for service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability, concluding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current condition and events during military service.

The Board denied the claims for increased ratings for low back syndrome, right wrist scar from ganglion cystectomy, left wrist ganglion cyst, and left hand laceration repair scar.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for osteoporosis of the left knee, an increased rating for PTSD, and a compensable evaluation for epidermophytosis. The low back disability claim was partially granted with a 40% rating prior to September 26, 2003, and a 40% rating from that date forward.

The Board denied the veteran's service connection claim for a lumbar spine disability and his earlier effective date claim for non-service connected pension benefits. The Board found that there was no evidence of a chronic back disability in service, and that the current lumbar spine disability is less likely related to service. The earlier effective date claim was also denied as the veteran's entitlement to non-service connected pension arose on July 25, 2003.

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

The Board has determined that the veteran's current low back disability is not related to his service and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's scar of the left eyebrow is granted as it was directly incurred during service. The veteran's residuals of a head injury and low back disability are denied as they were not incurred in service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current low back disorder is attributable to service, and thus service connection for this condition is granted.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, a low back condition, and an evaluation for otitis externa. The evidence did not establish new and material evidence to reopen the claim for hearing loss. Service connection was also not granted for tinnitus or a low back condition as there is no medical evidence linking these conditions to service. Otitis externa was found not to meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.