Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2011

The VA denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, as his combined percentage rating of 70% does not meet the minimum schedular criteria for T/R.

The Board found that the reduction of the disability rating from 50% to 20% was proper, and denied the increased evaluation claim.

The Board found that the Veteran's current low back condition is not related to his service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran seeks service connection for a lumbar spine disability, which he contends is related to his service-connected left ankle disability. The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA examination and the need to consider additional medical evidence.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right and left knee, hip, ankle, and back disorders. The evidence did not establish a direct link between these conditions and his military service.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 40 percent for the Veteran's lumbar spine disorder and did not address the issue of a separate compensable rating for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for low back, upper spine, neck, and shoulder disabilities. The claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his right knee disability was also denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's lumbar spine and left knee disabilities were not incurred in or aggravated by active service, nor proximately due to a service-connected disability. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disc disease and associated right lower extremity radiculopathy result in a need for regular aid and attendance, warranting special monthly compensation. The Veteran is also eligible for specially adapted housing due to his use of a wheelchair.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's currently diagnosed low back disorder is not causally or etiologically related to service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for low back and left shoulder disorders. The Veteran's right knee, right ankle, cholecystectomy residuals, and bilateral retina disabilities are currently rated at the lowest possible disability rating of 10%.

The VA determined that there is no evidence to support the Veteran's claim of a lumbar spine disability being incurred in service. The Board found that the current diagnosis does not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection due to lack of continuity of symptoms within one year after separation from service.

The Board found that the Veteran's lumbar spine disability is not related to his active military service or any incident thereof, nor was it manifested within one year after separation from service. The Board also determined that there is no relationship between the service-connected cervical spine disability and the claimed lumbar spine disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left S1 radiculopathy, lumbar myositis, grade I spondylolisthesis, L5-S1, with associated bilateral spondylosis, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine.

The Veteran's service-connected low back disability has been rated at 10 percent and his right hip disability at 10 percent. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating for either condition.

The Board has ordered additional development to determine if the Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is related to his military service, including any injury sustained in a jeep accident in 1968.

The Veteran's claimed bilateral knee and low back disabilities were not incurred in service, and the Board finds that they are unrelated to his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed low back, bilateral foot, cervical spine arthralgias, and right ankle disorders are not related to service. The evidence does not support a finding of continuity of symptomatology or a nexus between current disabilities and service.

The Veteran does not have a current disability manifested by chest pains related to service, and her low back disability is currently rated noncompensably disabling.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain VA treatment records, private MRI records, and to provide the Veteran with an examination to determine the etiology of any current back disability.