Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2012

The Board found that the Veteran's back disorder is not related to his service-connected sinusitis and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with laminectomy and assigned a 20 percent rating effective from July 20, 2007. The Veteran's claims for higher ratings were denied.

The Veteran is found to be precluded from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities, which have rendered him unable to work.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for low back disability is being remanded due to the need for clarification of a VA examiner's opinion and further development.

The Board denied reopening of the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, finding no new and material evidence to support these claims.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been presented to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability, resulting in a denial.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities, including whether they are related to service.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claim for a TDIU from December 19, 2005 as moot due to the grant of this benefit in September 2010. The case is remanded for referral of the increased ratings claims and TDIU prior to December 19, 2005 to the Under Secretary for Benefits or Director of Compensation and Pension Service.

The Board denied service connection for lumbar spine disorder, cervical spine disorder, neurological disorder affecting the lower extremities, and right hip disorder.

The Veteran does not have a diagnosed right hip disability and the Board finds that his current pain in the upper buttock region is not related to service. The low back disability, however, has been addressed separately.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's chronic low back strain is currently rated at 40 percent, which is the maximum available rating under Diagnostic Code 5237 for limitation of motion without unfavorable ankylosis. The claim for a higher evaluation remains pending.

The Board granted an increased rating of 40 percent for the service-connected lumbar spine disability with bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, effective July 24, 2012. The earlier effective date for major depressive disorder was also granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine degenerative joint disease, left ear hearing loss disability, tinnitus, right knee chondromalacia patella prior to July 15, 2002, a rating in excess of zero percent for right knee chondromalacia patella prior to March 1, 2007, and a rating in excess of 30 percent for status post right knee arthroplasty with chondromalacia patella and degenerative joint disease prior to April 1, 2010. The effective dates were not established.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining private treatment records and clarifying a previous VA examiner's opinion. The Veteran is also scheduled for a hearing with a Veterans Law Judge of the Board.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 40 percent for the service-connected lumbosacral strain with DDD, spondylosis, and spondylolisthesis.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and a 70 percent rating for PTSD. The low back disorder and TDIU claims are remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and VA treatment records, scheduling examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected PTSD and tension headaches, and considering a TDIU claim.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back, right shoulder, and hypertension disabilities were denied. The VA found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for any of these conditions.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability has been rated at 10 percent, the maximum available under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The Veteran's post concussion syndrome with headaches claim was denied.