Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2007

The veteran's service-connected low back disorder is productive of not more than slight impairment with limitation of motion, no ankylosis, and no sciatic nerve involvement or other neurological component objectively shown. The skin disability has been recharacterized as eczema with residual skin discoloration and tinea pedis but remains noncompensable.

The Board has determined that service connection is not warranted for shin splints, and the veteran's claims of service connection for a low back disability and left ear hearing loss disability have been denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disability and a back disability, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has decided that additional development is necessary before a determination can be made regarding the veteran's claim for service connection for an upper back condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for low back disorder and an initial compensable evaluation for his service-connected leg length discrepancy (LLD). The LLD was found to be not productive of shortening greater than 2 centimeters, which does not warrant a compensable evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5275. The Board also concluded that the veteran's current low back disorder did not clearly and unmistakably preexist service or become aggravated by either service or his service-connected LLD.

The Board has remanded the case for additional examination and review of new evidence, as requested by the veteran. The appeal is currently in a pending status.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, bilateral hearing loss, sinusitis, bilateral genu varus (claimed as trench foot), tinnitus, left leg condition, right arm condition, and head condition. The appeal is not about service connection at all.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes and thus cannot establish service connection for right ear hearing loss.

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

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and consideration of both old and new rating criteria. The issue of entitlement to a temporary total rating based on convalescence from low back surgery performed in September 2005 has also been raised.

The Board is remanding the case to determine if new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim for service connection for low back disorder, including osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and myasthenia gravis.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for PTSD, left foot deformity, a crooked left leg, bipolar disorder with major depression, a left tibia disorder and hearing loss as these claims were withdrawn by the appellant.

The Board is remanding the case to further develop the claim and provide additional notification to the veteran, including requesting SSA records and providing notice on what evidence would be necessary to reopen his service connection claim.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his low back disability were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation under any applicable rating schedule.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss, cervical spine disability with spondylosis and spinal stenosis, left shoulder degenerative osteoarthritis, thoracolumbar disability (chronic strain of the thoracic spine), and left ear hearing loss. The decision is based on a lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board found no evidence of a back disorder during service and denied the claim for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected rheumatoid arthritis of the left hip, right hip, right knee, left knee, fingers of the right hand, fingers of the left hand, right elbow, left elbow, right wrist, and left wrist have been rated as 10 percent disabling. The veteran's service-connected rheumatoid arthritis of the left shoulder and right shoulder have been rated as 20 percent disabling.

The veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with orthopedic manifestations is rated at 20 percent, and his service-connected neurologic manifestations of the left and right lower extremities are each rated at 20 percent. The ratings reflect the severity of the disability based on the criteria for evaluating intervertebral disc syndrome.

The veteran's service-connected low back disability with degenerative disc disease at L5-S1 is manifested by nightly and morning pain that is alleviated by analgesics and movement, mildly limiting his functional ability. The Board found the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The veteran's claim for increased ratings for her lumbar spine disability and bilateral knee conditions was denied. The effective date of the award of separate 10% disability ratings for her bilateral knee conditions is set at May 7, 2005.