Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2007

The Board has remanded the case for further action, including scheduling a personal hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the RO.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and malaria due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board denied service connection for cervical spondylosis with post-operative residuals of discectomy and fusion at C3-4 and C4-5, avascular necrosis of the hips, and residuals of a herniated nucleus pulposus of the lumbosacral spine with residuals of a compression fracture of the 1st lumbar vertebra. The veteran's conditions were found to be not incurred in or aggravated by service.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for increase and a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) for further development.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine, cervical spine disability with arthritis, and bilateral shoulder disability. The claims for increased ratings for low back pain, right inguinal hernia repair, hemorrhoids, and chronic prostatitis have also been denied.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the failure of a scheduled hearing. The issues regarding bilateral hearing loss and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine remain unresolved.

The Board found that no additional evidence has been received with respect to the low back disorder that shows a relationship to service. Therefore, the claim of service connection for a low back disorder was denied.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including a new VA examination and consideration of extraschedular evaluation.

The Board found no evidence of a low back disorder related to service and denied the veteran's claim.

The veteran's service connection claims for upper respiratory infections, bronchitis, sinusitis, left wrist strain, osteophytes of the right hip, gastritis, degenerative changes and degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine, spondylitic disc disease of the cervical spine, tendonitis of the left elbow, and tendonitis of the right elbow have been granted. The veteran's claim for a higher initial evaluation for his service-connected conditions has also been granted.

The veteran's claims for an increased evaluation and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA spine examination.

The veteran's service-connected residuals of a right hip stress fracture are rated at 20 percent, and the claim for an increased rating is granted. Service connection was established for left knee and right knee conditions as secondary to the service-connected right hip condition, but no low back disorder has been found to be related to service or service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right shoulder, lumbar spine, and stomach disabilities.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a right knee, back, hip, or shoulder disability that is attributable to military service.

The Board has decided to remand the veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete information and need for further examination.

The Board denied the request to reopen the previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disorder, finding that the new evidence did not provide a reasonable possibility that the disability was related to events in service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, finding that none of them were incurred or aggravated by service.

The veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for his entitlement to Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities. The case is being remanded for further development and consideration.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for back, left knee, and left hip disabilities on a direct basis or as secondary to his service-connected acrocyanosis with frostbite of the feet. The evidence did not establish that these conditions were incurred in service or related to his service-connected condition.