Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2012

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's low back disability. The claims for increased ratings for the knees are also being remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right ankle injury, an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, and a separate evaluation for left lower extremity neurological manifestations secondary to lumbar spine disability.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and examining the Veteran's back injury claims. The Veteran is seeking service connection for a low back disability.

The Veteran's cervical spine arthritis was found to have become manifest within one year of separation from service, warranting presumptive service connection. Non-cervical spine arthritis was not shown until many years after service and is presumed to be unrelated to service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for the issues of entitlement to service connection for a low back disorder and degenerative disc disease with stenosis of the lumbar spine, which were dismissed.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative disc disease L5-S1 and a left hip disorder are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.

The Board has ordered the RO to obtain and associate with the claims file additional VA treatment records, including a February 2009 consultation record and a June 2011 medical consultation. The case will be remanded for further development.

The Veteran's right knee chondromalacia is service-connected.,Right knee disability other than chondromalacia, left knee disability, and lumbar spine disability are not service-connected.

The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's low back disorder, including whether it began during service or is otherwise linked to some incident of active duty. The issue will be remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for service connection or a compensable rating for his claimed conditions. The appeal is denied.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for updated VA examinations and additional medical records. The claims will be reviewed after these are obtained.

The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence indicates that the Veteran does not have a current right ear hearing loss disability. Therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for a low back disability. The Veteran's current condition is found to be related to his in-service injury, meeting the criteria for direct service connection.

The Veteran's low back strain has been reduced from a 40 percent rating to a 20 percent rating effective March 1, 2008. The current 20 percent rating is considered appropriate based on the evidence of record.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of concussion fracture of T-8, 9, 10, with degenerative disc disease have been manifested by constant pain with severe flare-ups, fatigue, stiffness, weakness, spasm and limitation of motion to, at most, 50 degrees of forward flexion, 0 degrees of extension, 5 degrees of bilateral lateral flexion, and 2 degrees of bilateral lateral rotation. Ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine was not shown at any time during the period of appeal.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability but denied service connection for diabetes. The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is related to his active military service, while his diabetes was not incurred in or aggravated by any incident of service.

The Board found no evidence of a back disability in service and insufficient credible evidence to establish that the current back disability is related to service. The respiratory disability claim was not adjudicated as it pertained to exposure to asbestos, which is not supported by the record.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine and a bilateral leg condition, to include pain in the feet are being remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Board has granted service connection for myofascial lumbar pain with radiation into the right greater trochanteric area, finding that it is related to the Veteran's military service. The issue of entitlement to a right hip disability was withdrawn by the Veteran prior to decision.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar spine degenerative joint and disc disease and right hip strain were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable VA rating schedule.