Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2008

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and arranging for an orthopedic examination to determine if the veteran's low back disability is related to his service-connected left ankle disability.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a medical opinion to reconcile conflicting opinions in the record and determine whether the veteran's congenital back disorder was aggravated during military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's back strain with mechanical low back pain is the result of a motor vehicle accident during active duty for training, and service connection is granted.

The VA examiner found that the veteran's current right knee and low back/hip disorders are not related to his service-connected shell fragment wound of the left thigh. The Board therefore denied these claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected back disability and left lower extremity radiculopathy do not warrant increased ratings beyond the current assigned ratings.

The Board has determined that the veteran's lumbar spine disability did not occur during her service and is unrelated to any incident therein. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current low back disorder or hearing loss in his right ear related to service. However, he was granted service connection for hearing loss in his left ear.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbar spine disability and chronic left heel pain, finding that there is no evidence of a current disability related to his military service.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his left knee and low back conditions have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a disability evaluation in excess of 30 percent for the left knee condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical examination and failure to review the claims file. The veteran's service connection claims for a low back disability and right wrist disability are pending.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a travel board hearing at the RO in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded due to a failure to provide proper VCAA notice and for compliance with the statutory duty to notify.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further examination and opinion regarding the etiology of the veteran's spondyloysis, as it is unclear whether the condition pre-existed his service or was aggravated by a work injury.

The Board has determined that service connection is not warranted for either a low back disability or hemorrhoids.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability in April 2000 and the veteran did not appeal. The claim was reopened based on new evidence, but it does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.,The veteran's erectile dysfunction is not due to VA prescribed medications as there is no evidence showing that carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault by VA caused his disability.

The Board finds that the veteran's current back disability is not related to service and denies his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if the veteran's current back disabilities are related to service, specifically his service-connected ulcerative colitis.

The VA determined that the veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis does not warrant a rating higher than 40 percent, as his symptoms do not meet the criteria for more severe disability ratings.

The Board found that the veteran's current back disability is not related to his service or any incident therein, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, a cervical spine disability, and residuals of a head injury. The initial compensable rating claim for bilateral hearing loss was also denied. The claim for an increased rating for degenerative arthritis of the upper lumbar spine was not addressed as it is no longer on appeal.