Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2010

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a low back disability attributable to his active military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's low back disability is rated at 60 percent since June 19, 2002. The Board has determined that the Veteran's unique manifestations of low back disability present impairment not contemplated by the rating criteria and warrant an extra-schedular rating of 100 percent.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a back or bilateral knee disability due to disease or injury incurred in service, and denied both claims.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that his death was not caused by a disability incurred in or aggravated by service and that no service-connected disability contributed to his death.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and service connection were denied due to her failure to report for a VA examination scheduled in August 2007. The Board found that she did not provide good cause for missing the examination.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for an increased rating of degenerative joint disease with limitation of motion of the lumbar spine.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings are being remanded to allow for additional development, including VA examinations to assess the severity of her service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's low back disability is being remanded for further evaluation and a medical opinion to determine if it is related to service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, while significant, do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's low back disorder is secondary to his service-connected left hip osteochondroma and residuals of a total left knee replacement. The claim for an increased evaluation for the left hip from July 27, 2005 to April 19, 2007 was denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records, schedule a VA examination, and issue a supplemental statement of the case for his PTSD claim.

The Veteran's service connection claims for a left knee disability, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss are denied. The claim for an increased rating for lumbar spondylosis is also denied.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for a back disability and granted service connection for cardiovascular, hypertension, erectile dysfunction, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type 2.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left foot disability and a lumbar spine disability, finding that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen these claims. The additional evidence submitted since the August 2005 decision was considered cumulative or did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claims.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were granted, with a 10 percent rating assigned for the right ankle condition.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to an inadequate medical opinion based on a misfiled document.

The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for residuals of lumbar strain was denied by the Board, as his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Veteran's low back disability is currently rated at 40 percent, and the Board found no evidence to warrant a higher rating. The ratings for his right knee and left knee disabilities are also denied.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating and an extra-schedular rating for his low back disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a schedular rating higher than 40 percent, and there were no issues regarding service connection or exposure basis.

The Veteran's pre-existing dorsal and lumbosacral strain, right hip disability, and numbness and tingling in the right leg and foot increased in severity during service and were aggravated by military service.