Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2009

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability and back disorder were not incurred in or aggravated by service, and are not attributable to any incident of service. The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection for these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for Grave's disease and for increased disability ratings for his service-connected degenerative joint disease of the right hip and low back pain with retrolisthesis at L5-S1. The claim for service connection for Grave's disease was previously denied in 1995, but new evidence submitted since then did not relate to a fact not previously established that is necessary to substantiate the claim.

The Board has ordered a remand due to insufficient examination regarding the Veteran's lumbar spine disorder and its relationship to service.

The Veteran's lumbar strain is currently rated at 40 percent since April 1, 2008. From October 16, 2005 to April 1, 2008, the rating was 20 percent; prior to that date, it was 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right knee and lumbar spine disabilities are not related to service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal concerning an initial higher rating for a low back disability.

The Veteran's appeal for PTSD is remanded due to a lack of timely substantive appeal. The cases related to lumbar spine disorder and bilateral shoulder disorder are also being remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral knee condition and a back condition. The claim of service connection for GERD was also denied, as new and material evidence had not been received to reopen it.

The Veteran's combined rating for his service-connected disabilities is less than total, but the criteria for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability due to service connected disorders have not been met. The preponderance of evidence shows that the Veteran is unemployable primarily as a result of the residual disability associated with his nonservice connected cerebrovascular accident.

The Veteran's multiple nonservice-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a permanent and total disability rating necessary to qualify for nonservice-connected pension benefits.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's back disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with radiculopathy and cervical spine degenerative arthritis are related to his in-service injuries, and thus service connection is granted.

The Veteran's low back disability warrants a 40 percent rating for functional impairment of the spine, and a separate 10 percent rating for right radiculopathy.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected residuals of lumbar strain do not warrant a rating in excess of 20 percent.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hip disorder and back disability, both of which are presumed to be related to Agent Orange exposure. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by military service.

The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for cervical DDD prior to March 7, 2007 was denied. The VA found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Veteran is currently in receipt of a 20 percent rating for his service-connected degenerative disc disease (DDD) at L5-S1 prior to August 18, 2003 and a 40 percent rating from that date. The claim for higher initial evaluations remains pending.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations, as well as compliance with prior Board instructions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability is not related to his military service and therefore denied his claim for service connection.