Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2007

The veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of hearing loss and low back disorder.

The veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a lumbosacral spine disorder are being remanded due to the need to obtain additional medical records.

The veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of private hospital care in December 2003 was denied as the expenses were not rendered in a medical emergency and no VA facility was feasibly available.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right knee, left knee, lumbar spine, and cervical spine disorders due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred during or aggravated by military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for migraine headaches, tinnitus, and a lumbar spine injury with degenerative disc disease. The claim for PTSD was also denied due to lack of corroborated in-service stressor. For his right shoulder disability, the rating remained at 30 percent effective August 29, 2006.

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected low back disability, which is currently rated at 20 percent disabling, does not warrant a higher rating as it only produces moderate functional impairment and better than 30 degrees of flexion.

The Board has denied service connection for right and left ankle fractures, finding no current disability or evidence of such in service. Service connection for a back disorder is granted.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities and determine if he needs aid and attendance.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bronchitis, cervical spine disability (DDD), lumbar spine disability (DDD), and scoliosis due to a lack of competent evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The veteran's spondylolisthesis of the lumbosacral spine has been rated at 40 percent since November 1999, but no higher. The evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the revised version of Diagnostic Code 5293 as it pertains to intervertebral disc syndrome.

The Board found that the veteran's lumbar strain does not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent under any version of the rating criteria, as he did not demonstrate more than slight limitation of motion.

The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine was incurred in service and is granted service connection.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of spondylosis of the cervical spine with radiculopathy and an increased rating for degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine. The veteran's current neck disability was not incurred or aggravated in service, and arthritis may not be presumed to have been. For his lumbar spine disability, a higher rating than 40 percent is denied as there are no findings of pronounced intervertebral disc syndrome or unfavorable ankylosis.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have service connection for any of the claimed conditions, as there is no medical evidence linking them to his military service.

The VA has determined that the veteran's S-1 nerve root irritation, associated with his service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, warrants a 10 percent rating since August 24, 2005. The claim for an increased rating is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for back disability, right knee disability, left eye disability, thyroid disorder, chronic headaches, residuals of chest injury, and hypertension. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to military service.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of his service-connected residuals, contusion lower back, lumbar region is being remanded due to the need for additional development and consideration of new criteria.

The veteran's appeal for service connection on multiple conditions was dismissed as he did not file a timely substantive appeal.

The veteran seeks service connection for lumbar strain with multilevel disc degeneration, which he claims is secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee replacements. The Board finds an additional examination is required to determine the etiology of the lumbar condition.

The veteran's appeal for service connection for right index finger injury has been withdrawn. The case is being remanded to the RO for further development and consideration of her claims for low back pain, bilateral knee pain, and pelvic pain and spasms on the right side.