Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2010

The Board has remanded the case for additional development to obtain medical records and determine whether service connection can be established for right knee, right ankle, low back disorders, and hypertension.

The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain with arthritis and osteoporosis effective July 30, 2003. The Veteran's claim was reopened in July 2000, but the new evidence submitted did not meet the criteria to reopen the claim.

The Veteran's service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and coccydynia associated with residuals fracture, left femur was granted effective September 27, 2007. The claim for a higher rating for coccydynia remains denied.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is not established.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a deviated nasal septum is granted. Initial compensable evaluations are granted for DJD of the right hip, DJD of the left hip, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, and degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine. Service connection for tinea corporis is also granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a headache disorder and low back disorder have been granted as the evidence is in equipoise regarding their onset during service.,The Board finds that the Veteran's current headaches and low back disorders are related to his period of active duty.

The Board denied reopening the claims for service connection for a right shoulder condition and lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, finding that new evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claims.

The Veteran's claim for a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability is granted, effective May 16, 1990.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment prior to November 14, 2003. Effective November 14, 2003, secondary service connection was granted for a psychiatric disorder due to his back disability.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's low back disability and his service, including a fall from a jeep in 1964. The Veteran's representative also raised the issue of whether the low back disability is related to his service-connected left arm disabilities.

The Veteran's low back disability has been characterized by some pain and occasional flare-ups, but does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating based on forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 60 degrees but not greater than 85 degrees; combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 120 degrees but not greater than 235 degrees; muscle spasm, guarding or localized tenderness resulting in an abnormal gait; X-ray evidence of arthritis with noncompensable limitation of motion objectively confirmed by findings such as swelling, muscle spasm, or satisfactory evidence of painful motion; or incapacitating episodes of intervertebral disc syndrome having a total duration of at least one week but less than two weeks during the past 12 months.

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

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of his low back disorder and knee medial meniscus tears, as well as effective dates prior to December 22, 2006 for hip disorders. The appeal is remanded for further development.

The Veteran's low back disorder was initially granted service connection with a 10 percent rating. The appeal sought higher ratings for different periods of time, and the Board found that the criteria were not met for any staged ratings in excess of the initial 10 percent assigned.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder and an increased rating for hypertension, finding no evidence of a link between these conditions and his military service. The claim for an earlier effective date for the hypertension rating was also denied.

The Board has determined that the evidence received since the June 1959 rating decision is not new and material, and therefore, the claim of entitlement to service connection for mouth tumors, to include as due to ionizing radiation exposure, is not reopened.

The Board found that the Veteran's low back and left knee disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by service, as his conditions are presumed to have existed prior to service. The evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection for either condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his medical records and readjudication.

The Board found no evidence to support the Veteran's claims for service connection of his lumbar and knee disorders, concluding that they are not related to his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a back, neck, and head injury as there is no evidence showing that any current disabilities are related to his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased evaluation of left varicocele, service connection for urinary disability and sexual dysfunction as secondary to left varicocele, and service connection for low back disability. The decision found that there was no clear and unmistakable evidence that the conditions existed prior to service or were aggravated by service.