Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2009

The Board has determined that the Veteran's currently shown low back, left knee, and bilateral leg disabilities are not related to his active military service.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbar degenerative disc disease, shell fragment wound of the upper right arm with retained foreign body and residual scar involvement, and shell fragment wound of the right knee are currently rated as 40 percent disabling. The appeals for higher ratings remain denied.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain is rated at 20 percent, the highest available rating under VA guidelines for this condition. The other two issues (plantar fasciitis and right foot bunion) are not addressed as they were not part of the appeal.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbosacral spine spondylosis of L4-L5, with degenerative facet joints of L5-S1 is being remanded due to the need for a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of all pending appeals.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed skin disorder, left knee disorder, left ankle disorder, right ankle disorder, cervical disorder, low back disorder, head disorder, and right hand disorder were not incurred or aggravated by active service. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran did not engage in combat and his claimed stressors are unsupported. Therefore, service connection for PTSD is denied as there is no evidence of a verified in-service stressor. The low back disability was also found to be unrelated to service.

The Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is related to trauma in service. The Board finds that service connection for this condition is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for prostate cancer and anal fistula and abscess have been denied as there is no evidence of a link between these conditions and his military service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and conducting orthopedic and neurological examinations to determine the current severity of his service-connected low back disability. The RO must also consider whether an extra-schedular rating is warranted.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a new VA examination to determine whether PTSD is service-connected and an increased rating for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine.

The Veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the cervical and thoracolumbar spines were increased to a 40 percent rating effective March 20, 2009.

The Board found that the Veteran's low back disorder is not related to his service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining his personnel file and providing him with notice of the information and evidence required to substantiate a claim for service connection on a secondary basis.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's diagnosed lumbar strain had its onset during active service and granted her claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's low back disability is secondary to his service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his left knee and low back disabilities were denied. The left knee disability was rated at 10 percent, while the low back disability received a noncompensable rating prior to October 7, 2008, but was later granted a 10 percent evaluation effective from that date.

The Veteran's low back strain with DJD and DDD at L4-L5 was denied for increased evaluations in both periods.

The Veteran's low back disability is rated at 40 percent, with separate ratings for neurological manifestations of the right and left legs. The claim for an increased rating has been granted.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, while rated at a combined evaluation of 70 percent, do not preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience.