Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2007

The Board has determined that the veteran's right hip and back disabilities are not related to his service-connected right knee injury postoperative residuals.,VA medical examinations have found no current evidence of a nexus between the veteran's service-connected right knee disability and either his right hip or back disabilities.

The veteran's claims for service connection for various hand, neck, low back, right knee, and right ankle disabilities have been denied. The Board found no current evidence of these conditions.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service connection claims for a back disorder and cold injury bilateral feet are denied, while her claim for an increased rating for ACL deficiency of the left knee is denied. The decision also notes that a remand is necessary to afford the veteran a VA examination.

The Board found that the veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc disease was not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right knee injury, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disability and chronic fatigue syndrome were not incurred or aggravated during active military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current low back and neck disabilities did not begin during service or are otherwise related to his military service, thus denying both claims.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant.,Service connection has not been established for blindness in both eyes, loss of use of either hand, or any disability resulting in the anatomical loss or loss of use of both feet.

The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis of the cervical spine, finding it at least as likely as not that these conditions were first manifested in service. The claim for an increased rating for lumbar spine arthritis is also granted.

The Board has found that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for a chronic back disability. Additional development is required before further consideration of the claim on the merits.

The Board found no evidence of a current low back disability and denied the claim as there was insufficient medical evidence to establish service connection for the veteran's claimed condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current low back or left hip disability related to service and therefore denied both claims.

The Board has remanded the case for further investigation and evidence collection regarding the appellant's service connection claims, including verification of his enrollment in a Senior ROTC program and any periods of active duty training (ACDUTRA) or inactive duty training (INACDUTRA).

The veteran's low back disability was granted a 60 percent evaluation effective July 28, 2004. The claim for an increased rating prior to that date is also granted.

The Board denied service connection for a back disorder, to include a muscular disorder manifested by pain, stiffness and spasms, finding that the veteran's current condition was not incurred in or related to his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his service-connected low back disorder, left shoulder disorder, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, right femur fracture, and left femur fracture. The neuropathy of the lower right leg was also not granted a separate evaluation.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased rating for his DDD of the lumbar spine and service connection for a right shoulder disorder, finding that neither condition warranted a higher rating under applicable VA regulations.

The veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was granted with an effective date of February 5, 2003. This is the earliest possible effective date given his depression and lumbar spine disability.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for lumbar strain with degenerative disc disease was denied. The initial rating of 10 percent from October 31, 2001, through June 14, 2006, and the subsequent rating of 20 percent effective June 15, 2006, were both found to be inadequate.

The Board found that a chronic low back disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current left knee, low back, bilateral hip, or arthritis disorder that is related to his service-connected right knee subluxation with chondromalacia. The evidence does not support a finding of secondary service connection for these conditions.