Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2008

The Board has remanded the case for a VA examination and medical opinion to determine if the appellant's current lumbar spine disability, including degenerative disc disease, is related to service or claimed trauma in service. The examiner will also assess whether the left scoliosis shown in service was aggravated during service.

The Board has decided to remand the veteran's claims for increased rating and service connection due to incomplete evaluations, lack of proper medical evidence, and conflicting opinions. The veteran will be scheduled for an MRI and a VA examination to evaluate her left knee disability and back disorder.

The Board has determined that the veteran's back disability is related to his active service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board found that the veteran's right knee disability and back disability were not incurred or aggravated by service. The examiner concluded that his current disabilities are due to a motor vehicle accident prior to service, with no aggravation during service.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations and initial evaluation in excess of 50 percent for adjustment disorder with depressed mood were denied. The VA found that the lumbar spine condition did not warrant an evaluation in excess of 40 percent, while the adjustment disorder claim was also denied.

The Board finds that the veteran's current lumbar disc disease is likely due to his service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a spinal injury, finding that his current spine condition is not related to his inservice injury.

The veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with arthritis does not meet or approximate the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA orthopedic examiner's opinion on the etiology and onset of the veteran's low back disability.

The Board has vacated its June 2008 decision and remanded the claims for further action due to lack of due process.

The Board found that the veteran's low back disability is not related to his military service and denied his claim.

The veteran's initial claim for a low back disability was granted with an evaluation of 20 percent, effective November 1998. The decision affirmed the grant and did not address any issues related to service connection or exposure basis.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an initial compensable disability rating for patellofemoral syndrome of the left knee and service connection for patellofemoral syndrome of the right knee and a low back disability, finding that his symptoms did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable diagnostic codes.

The veteran's claim for a higher disability evaluation for his lumbosacral strain with arthritis is being remanded due to the need for clarification of the extent of service-connected and nonservice-connected factors affecting his condition.

The veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his request for withdrawal of the claims for initial ratings in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine and lumbar spine.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and readjudication of his claims, including obtaining additional medical records and providing him with a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected back disability and radiculopathy.

The VA determined that the veteran's post-operative low back disability, currently rated at 20 percent, does not warrant an increased evaluation.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, alone, do not meet the criteria for a TDIU as they are less than 100% combined and do not meet the percentage standards set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). The Board also considered whether there is evidence to warrant referral for consideration of a TDIU on an extra-schedular basis, but finds no such evidence.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for low back spasm/pain was denied, and his PTSD reopening claim was also denied. The VA examiner found that the veteran's symptoms did not warrant a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the submitted evidence is not new and material to reopen the claim for service connection for low back disability, hypertension (claimed as secondary to type II diabetes mellitus), and coronary artery disease (claimed as secondary to type II diabetes mellitus).