Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2008

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service records and the need for a VA examination. The veteran is seeking service connection for his low back disability, which he claims was incurred during active military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for a back disability, finding that no new and material evidence had been received.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for various conditions, finding that none of them were incurred or aggravated during his periods of active duty training (ACDUTRA) or inactive duty training (INACDUTRA). The appellant had a preexisting left knee disorder and was not shown to have any new injuries or diseases in ACDUTRA or INACDUTRA. He also did not meet the criteria for service connection due to his psychiatric condition, deep vein thrombosis of the left leg, or pseudofolliculitis barbae.

The veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and back disability were denied, as the evidence did not show a nexus to his military service. His increased rating claims for Pellegrini-Stieda's disease of the left knee and myositis and ossificans of the left thigh, secondary to trauma, were also denied.

The Board granted a disability rating of 20 percent for the veteran's lumbar spine strain, effective September 26, 2003.

The Board denied service connection for the veteran's low back disorder, finding that it was not related to his active duty service.

The veteran seeks service connection for asthma and a low back disorder. The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records, including pre-service treatment records, which are needed to determine if the conditions existed prior to military service or were aggravated by it.

The veteran's lumbar spine disability is currently rated at 40 percent disabling effective October 18, 2007. The appeal was granted.

The veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been denied. The RO found no new and material evidence to reopen the claims of service connection for psychiatric disorder, left arm disability, and low back disability. The rating decisions regarding cervical strain with degenerative joint disease, chondromalacia of the right knee, and residuals of a fractured right little finger were also denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disability is not incurred or aggravated by active service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for further examination and opinion regarding whether the veteran's levoscoliosis of the lumbar spine is a congenital or developmental condition that was aggravated by service, or if it preexisted service.

The Board dismissed the veteran's claims due to his withdrawal of appeal for bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax and sterility, and denied service connection for a lumbar spine disorder as there was no competent evidence linking it to service.

The Board finds that the veteran's low back condition, including spondylosis and degenerative arthritic changes, was incurred in service. The claim for service connection is granted.

The Board has determined that there is no current diagnosis of a bilateral knee disability and no evidence tending to relate a bilateral knee disability to service or to the service-connected bilateral foot disabilities. Therefore, service connection for a bilateral knee disability, to include as secondary to service-connected bilateral foot disabilities, is not warranted.

The Board found that a lumbar spine disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and arthritis may not be presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by service. The veteran's lumbar spine disorder is also not due to, the result of, or aggravated by his service-connected left hip or knee disabilities.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for additional development due to the veteran's failure to appear at a scheduled hearing. The veteran is requested to provide new evidence or arguments if he wishes to proceed with his appeal.

The Board denied service connection for right leg numbness, low back pain, and right shoulder laxity/pain as there is no current medical diagnosis of these conditions. Service connection was also not granted for a lung disorder related to asbestos exposure due to lack of evidence.

The Board has reopened the veteran's previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.,However, the Board found no evidence of a current back disability and thus denied the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back disability secondary to his right knee disability.

The Board has determined that a new VA orthopedic examination is needed to determine if the veteran's service-connected disabilities alone are of sufficient severity to prevent him from securing and following any substantially-gainful employment. The RO should also obtain and associate with the claims folder copies of all treatment records for the veteran at Fort Wayne, Indiana VAMC from November 2007 to the present time.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is at least as likely as not incurred in service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.