Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2007

The Board is requesting additional medical records from the veteran and will re-evaluate his claims for service connection and increased rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's back disability, degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine, was not incurred in or aggravated by service. The current condition is unrelated to a disease, injury, or event of service origin.,Arthritis of the right hip and left hip are not currently shown.

The Board has determined that the veteran's lumbar facet syndrome is not related to his military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's tinnitus and back disorder were not incurred or aggravated in service, and denied both claims.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for a temporary total rating based on convalescence following lumbar spine surgery, as his claim was received more than one year after the medical procedure.

The Board has determined that the veteran's mechanical low back pain with strain warrants a rating of 20 percent, effective from the date of the decision.

The Board found that the veteran's current low back condition is not related to his service from February 1975 to February 1977, and thus denied service connection for a low back condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for paravertebral muscle spasms of the lumbar spine, finding no competent medical evidence linking his current disability to his in-service injury.

The Board finds the evidence to be in relative equipoise, finding that the veteran's current degenerative disc and joint disease of the lumbosacral spine with spinal stenosis is as likely as not due to a disease or injury incurred during service. Therefore, service connection for this condition is granted.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic low back disorder in service or within one year after discharge, and concluded that the veteran's current degenerative disc disease is not related to his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and initial higher ratings for his right ankle disability, low back disability (orthopedic manifestations), and neurological manifestations of the low back disability. The TDIU rating claim is remanded.

The Board has determined that the veteran's sensory radiculopathy of the left thigh warrants a rating in excess of 20 percent, while his intervertebral disc disease of the lumbar spine remains at 40 percent.

The veteran's claim for a temporary total disability rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is being remanded for further development, including obtaining medical opinions and Social Security Administration records.

The VA has granted a 20 percent disability rating for the residuals of fracture left elbow (minor) since August 23, 2002. The veteran's service connection claims for residuals of a left shoulder injury and back disorder are pending.

The veteran's lumbosacral spine disorder, which was initially rated at 10 percent prior to February 17, 2006, has been increased to a maximum of 40 percent effective February 17, 2006.

The Board has determined that the veteran is entitled to a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, effective May 27, 1997.

The Board has granted service connection for a low back strain with facet hypertrophy, finding that the veteran's current condition is at least as likely as not related to his injury in service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and seeking a new VA medical opinion regarding whether the veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed to his death.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for burn scars, service connection for lumbosacral disability, and service connection for left knee disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current low back difficulties are due to a post-service injury in 1983, and cannot be attributed to any event or disease in service.