Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2008

The Board found that the veteran's cervical spine disability is not related to his service or any service-connected conditions, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's service connection claims for lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, finding no evidence to support a direct or secondary relationship between these conditions and his active duty service.

The veteran's claim for special monthly pension by reason of need for regular aid and attendance has been granted due to his multiple nonservice-connected disabilities, including COPD with sleep apnea, major depressive disorder, lumbar stenosis, diabetes mellitus (type II), and hypertension. The Board found that the veteran requires daily assistance in performing certain activities.

The veteran's GERD is not shown to be manifested by persistently recurrent gastric distress with dysphagia, pyrosis, and regurgitation, accompanied by substantial arm or shoulder pain, productive of considerable impairment of health.,The veteran does not have a medically supportable diagnosis of PTSD due to a verified stressor or other potentially verifiable event or incident of his period of active service.,By extending the benefit of the doubt to the veteran, his disability manifested by an anxiety disorder is due to disease that was incurred in active service.,The veteran does not have a current disability manifesting cervical spine pain due to any event or incident of his active service.,The veteran's lumbosacral spine pain is not shown to be due to an injury or other event or incident of the veteran's period of military service.

The Board found that the veteran's fatal cardiopulmonary arrest and acute myocardial infarction were not caused by, or substantially or materially contributed to by, a disability or disease incurred in service. The cause of death was determined to be sudden cardiac arrest.

The Board found no evidence of current disabilities related to the veteran's upper and lower back, right knee, left eye, or allergic rhinitis conditions. The claims for service connection were denied.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD and assigned a zero percent disability rating. The veteran's bilateral hearing loss and knee/back conditions are not compensably rated, but the appeal is remanded to determine appropriate ratings.

The Board has referred the case back to the RO for consideration of additional medical evidence submitted by the veteran. The appeal is now remanded due to this new development.

The VA denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, but granted an initial evaluation of 20 percent for static backache resulting from in-service spinal puncture.

The Board found that the veteran's back disorder pre-existed service and was not aggravated by active military service, thus denying the claim for service connection.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for chronic sinusitis and thoracolumbar degenerative joint disease are being remanded to the RO for further development, including obtaining updated medical records and arranging for VA examinations.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including a medical opinion assessing his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.

The VA has determined that the veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU as they are less than total, and there is no evidence showing he is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has remanded the case due to missing medical records and incomplete information. The veteran's back disability claim is being reviewed, as well as his dental trauma claim which may be reopened with new evidence.

The Board has decided that the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected degenerative disc disease, L1-S1, needs to be remanded due to a lack of recent medical records and the need for additional evidence from co-workers.

The Board has determined that the veteran did not incur a chronic low back disability in service and therefore, his claim for service connection is denied.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for reopening claims of service connection for a back disorder, diabetes mellitus with episodes of hypoglycemia, headaches, and vision loss with corneal scars of the right eye. The claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss was not reopened.

The Board denied claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, cervical and lumbar spine disk disease. The veteran's claim for hearing loss was not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence. For the cervical and lumbar spine issues, there is no direct evidence linking current disabilities to active service.

The Board denied service connection for cervical and lumbosacral spine disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a direct relationship to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran did not timely file a substantive appeal regarding his claim for service connection for a back disorder, and thus does not have jurisdiction to consider the merits of this claim.