Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2008

The Board remands the claim for service connection for multiple joint arthritis to provide adequate notice of what is necessary to substantiate a claim of secondary service connection.

The veteran's upper back disability was granted service connection due to a continuity of symptomatology from her time in service through the present.

The veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine was denied an increased evaluation, as the evidence did not support a rating higher than 20 percent.

The Board denied service connection for disability due to drug allergies but granted service connection for an allergy to nickel. The low back disability was evaluated as 20 percent disabling.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability, residuals of a laceration to the left thigh, hypertension with a heart disability, and headaches as new and material evidence was not found.

The veteran's lumbar spine IVDS disability and associated neuropathy in both lower extremities do not meet the criteria for higher ratings.

The veteran's lumbar paravertebral muscle myalgia was granted a 20 percent evaluation for the entire period of increased rating claim.

The veteran's claims for an increased rating for otitis externa and to reopen a claim for service connection for a back disorder were denied.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for additional development, including obtaining an opinion on whether the veteran's spondylolisthesis is a congenital defect and whether any current back disability is related to service.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development of the evidence related to the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for back disability, including verification of a nexus between the claimed condition and service.

The Board determined that new and material evidence had been received to reopen the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a chronic back disorder, but denied service connection. The Board also found no basis for an initial compensable evaluation for pulmonary pleural plaquing.

The Board denied a higher evaluation for the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine disorder, finding that it did not more closely resemble severe intervertebral disc disease with recurring attacks and intermittent relief or cause neurological manifestations.

The veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and a back disability were reopened based on new and material evidence.

The veteran does not meet the criteria for special monthly pension by reason of being housebound or needing the aid and attendance of another.

The case is remanded to the RO for further development, including a new VA examination.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development and adjudication of the veteran's claim.

The Board found that the RO's August 1950 and March 1962 rating decisions denying service connection for a back disability were reasonable applications of extant law to the facts known at the time, and thus did not contain clear and unmistakable error (CUE).

The appeal is remanded for additional development, including VCAA notice and obtaining of relevant medical records.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for compliance with the instructions in the Joint Motion, including making another attempt to obtain medical records from RAF Hospital in Lakenheath and requesting post-surgical back surgery records.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates were denied, as well as his claims for service connection for various disabilities secondary to the right knee disability.