Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2012

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining service personnel records and adjudicating his claim of service connection for hypertension. He also needs to undergo a medical opinion regarding the likely etiology of his current end stage renal disease. His claims of service connection for a back disability and an increased rating for his knee disabilities are also pending.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining a supplemental medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current back disorders are related to his military service and if so, whether they were aggravated by service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to determine the current manifestations and effects of his service-connected low back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy, as well as an opinion on whether he is unemployable due to these disabilities. The issues include increased rating for lumbosacral strain with degenerative joint disease and initial higher rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran's left foot disorder, thoracolumbar spine disorder, right ear hearing loss disability, and left ear hearing loss disability are all found to be incurred in service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining outstanding VA treatment records and a copy of the November 21, 2011 VA examination. The case will be readjudicated after these actions.

The Veteran's claim for TDIU is being remanded due to the need for additional examination and development of records.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the Veteran's claims, including obtaining medical records and providing a new examination to assess his spine disability. The case will be remanded for these actions.

The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran and a need for additional examination of his low back disability.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeal regarding the claim for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, to include as secondary to the service-connected mechanical low back strain with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. As a result, the Board dismisses this issue.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the etiology of the Veteran's DDD of the lumbar spine and whether it is related to service or service-connected bilateral pes planus.

Service connection for a low back disorder was granted. The psychiatric disability claim was denied.,The Veteran's TDIU claim was also denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied. The claim of service connection for residuals of a lumbar laminectomy was also denied, but the Board remanded it to the RO.

New and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including sleep disorders, low back disabilities, GERD, hernia repairs, prostatitis, myositis, and depression. Further development is required before these claims can be adjudicated.

The Board found no evidence of a current low back disability related to service, but determined that new and material evidence had been received to reopen the Veteran's previously denied claim for prostatitis. The decision is mixed as it granted one issue (prostatitis) and did not address the other (low back disability).

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his low back disability was denied in February 1996, but no appeal was filed within the one-year period. The effective date of the current 20 percent rating is April 24, 1997.,A subsequent claim for an even higher rating was received on May 10, 2006 and granted a 40 percent evaluation with an effective date of May 10, 2006.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a separate and distinct disability characterized by rheumatoid arthritis, as his symptoms are consistent with his service-connected SLE, bilateral total hip replacements, lumbar strain, and systemic inflammatory arthritis of the hands. Therefore, service connection for rheumatoid arthritis is denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, while disabling, do not render him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.

The Board found that there is no credible evidence linking the Veteran's current cervical spine/neck disability to his service, including an in-service neck injury. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right hip, neck, lumbar spine, right leg, and right foot disorders. The most probative evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by service.

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