Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2011

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection are denied as the claims were received after one year from his discharge.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records and medical examinations to assess the current severity of his service-connected knee, ankle, low back, and left shoulder disabilities.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, hypertrophic actinic keratosis, skin cancer (general), Barrett's esophagus, and fractured vertebrae, lumbar spine. The appeal is not about service connection at all.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current low back disability is unrelated to service and his tinnitus is related to in-service noise exposure. Therefore, service connection for both conditions is denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee, left knee, and low back disorders are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations to determine their etiology.

The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his service-connected lumbar strain with mild degenerative arthritis is being remanded due to the need for a VA examination and updated treatment records.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine has been dismissed due to his death.

The Veteran's appeal was withdrawn regarding his service connection claims for bilateral knee disorders, carpal tunnel syndrome of the upper extremities, and a lower back disorder. The Board found that his PTSD symptoms did not meet the criteria for a 70 percent rating (deficiencies in most areas) but did meet the criteria for a 50 percent rating (reduced reliability and productivity).

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional examinations and consideration of his service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus, status-post stress fracture, left foot (including claims for left ankle inversion and sprain), and mechanical low back pain with degenerative changes at L5-S1.

The Board has ordered a remand due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and providing an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected left knee disorder aggravated his right knee and low back disorders.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability is not caused by or aggravated by his military service, and specifically does not meet the criteria for secondary service connection to his already service-connected postoperative medial meniscectomy and chronic synovitis, right knee.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's herniated nucleus pulposus of the lumbar spine, L4-5 and L5-S1 was incurred during active duty service.

The Veteran's low back disability is rated at 40 percent and does not prevent him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Board finds that the Veteran's residuals of a lumbar injury at L4-L5 with radiculopathy are etiologically related to his period of ACDUTRA service in 1998, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board found that the Veteran's current back disability has not been connected to any event from his active service and denied the claim.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) was denied. For his low back disability, he received a rating of 20% effective from January 12, 2004.

The Veteran's service-connected low back disability is rated at 20 percent, effective September 8, 2004. The rating reflects the predominant range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine on forward flexion being greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back disorder and is granting this claim. The new evidence submitted since the last denial supports the reopening of the claim, as it relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim (chronicity or continuity of low back problems since service).

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disorder, residuals of cold exposure, arthritis, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The decision found no new and material evidence to reopen the claim for a low back disorder, and that there was insufficient evidence linking any current disabilities to service or service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40% effective October 16, 2009. The cervical spine disability does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.