Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2009

The Veteran's back disability is related to service, and he was granted a 70% disability rating for his major depressive disorder with anxiety from November 7, 1996. The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome with pancreatitis also received a 70% disability rating effective November 7, 1996.

The Board has determined that the Veteran did not submit new and material evidence to reopen his claim of service connection for a low back disability, which was previously denied in March 1998. The current decision denies this claim.

The Veteran's total disability rating based on individual unemployability claim is granted effective from June 30, 1994. The extra-schedular rating for his intervertebral disc syndrome prior to September 23, 2002, remains denied.

The Veteran's DJD and DDD of the cervical spine, including associated radiculopathy (claimed as condition of the feet and hands and shoulder pain), is not related to service.,Service connection for headaches with loss of vision is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's migraine headache disability as secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine disability.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to new evidence received since the last Supplemental Statement of the Case.

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 DDD of the lumbosacral spine was granted a 40 percent disability rating effective March 31, 2009.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for scheduling a Travel Board hearing on the issue of SMC based on the need for aid and attendance of another. The other issues remain pending.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for chronic lumbar spine pain with generalized myoneuralgia and sinusitis was denied. The issues were remanded multiple times, but the Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the low back disability in May 2009.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased disability rating for a low back disability was withdrawn by the Veteran. The case is remanded to schedule a Travel Board hearing at the RO in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Veteran's service-connected traumatic arthritis of the lumbosacral spine with degenerative disc disease is currently rated at 40 percent effective February 27, 2004.

The Veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations of her service-connected cervical and lumbar spine disabilities are being remanded. Her claim for service connection for fibrocystic condition and fibroid tumors is also being remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining new VA examinations to assess the current severity of his service-connected low back disorder, left hip disorder, and left lower extremity neuritis.

The Veteran's lumbosacral paravertebral myositis was rated at 20 percent effective October 29, 2008.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for his service connection for low back strain, and upheld the RO's determination of a combined disability rating of 70 percent.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a VA examination to determine if he has a spine disability and whether it is related to service.

The Board determined that new and material evidence had been presented to reopen the claim of service connection for a low back disability, but denied both the claim of service connection and the claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has remanded the claims for diabetes mellitus, stomach disability, and low back disability due to additional development being needed.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disorder and finds that new and material evidence has been received. The Veteran is entitled to a VA examination to determine whether his current low back disorder had its onset during active service or is related to any in-service disease, event, or injury.