Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2008

The Board has denied the appellant's claims for service connection for a back disorder and bilateral hearing loss, finding no evidence of current disabilities or in-service incurrence/aggravation.

The Board has determined that the veteran is not entitled to a compensable rating under either Diagnostic Code (DC) 5260 or DC 5261 for his left knee disability. However, he meets criteria for a separate evaluation of degenerative joint disease due to osteoarthritis as shown on X-ray examination. The case is remanded to the RO.

The veteran's appeal involves multiple service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, diabetes mellitus, low back strain, and tinea cruris. The issues include seeking higher evaluations for these conditions as well as obtaining an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the right hip and back, finding that there is no evidence of current disability or a causal relationship to his service-connected residuals of back injury.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for left knee and low back disorders, as well as his claim for PTSD. The evidence submitted since the last denial was not considered new or material to reopen any of these claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for a temporary total rating based on surgery to treat a herniated disc at L3-L4 and an increased disability rating for recurrent low back pain with degenerative changes. The reasons given were that the July 2004 surgery was not related to his service-connected disability of recurrent low back pain with degenerative changes.

The veteran's hypertension and coronary artery disease have been granted initial ratings, with the hypertension receiving a noncompensable rating and the coronary artery disease receiving a 60 percent rating. The lumbar spine degenerative disc disease has received an initial 10 percent rating.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, including lumbosacral strain, depression and anxiety, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, and right great toe disorder, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. His TDIU claim is granted.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining SSA records and providing additional notice to the veteran.

The Board found that the veteran's lumbar spine disability did not meet or approximate criteria for a higher rating, and thus denied his claim for an increased rating.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to new evidence received after the August 2007 Supplemental Statement of the Case.

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and will consider the service connection claims again.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and arranging for VA examinations to determine if the veteran's DDD/IVDS represents a progression of his service-connected low back disability.

The Board determined that the veteran's current low back disorder is not related to his military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder and granted it, finding that new and material evidence had been submitted and linking the current disability to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and readjudication due to issues related to service connection, including new and material evidence claims. The veteran's hypertension and psoriasis of the scalp are still under consideration.

The veteran's service-connected residuals of frostbite did not cause or aggravate his current low back and bilateral knee disabilities. The Board denied both secondary service connection claims for these conditions.

The Board granted a higher disability evaluation of 20 percent for the veteran's low back disability and a 10 percent evaluation for his GERD, both under the criteria for direct service connection.

The veteran died of metastatic sarcoma, but the VA medical opinion and independent medical expert (IME) concluded that his service-connected cervical spine disability did not cause or contribute to his death. The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.