Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2012

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development on the issue of entitlement to a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the issue of an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for lumbar spondylosis.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back disability and granted it, finding that new evidence submitted since the last denial raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including clarification of the VA examiner's opinions regarding his service connection claims and a new examination if necessary.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed left knee and back disorders, as well as whether they are related to his military service. The case must be remanded for additional development.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and determined that the Veteran's disabilities, including PTSD, migraine headaches, lumbar spine injury, erectile dysfunction (secondary to PTSD medications), and traumatic brain injury, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The effective date of this decision is not specified.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development of evidence, including obtaining service treatment records and post-service medical records. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability is pending.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and providing VA examinations to address the etiology of each claimed disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining a VA examination to assess his employability due to service-connected disabilities and referral to the Director of Compensation and Pension Services for extra-schedular consideration.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and SMC based on aid and attendance were denied. The claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 was not addressed as it is a separate issue.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is at least as likely as not due to military noise exposure during service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The highest schedular rating of 30 percent was assigned for the Bell's palsy, left side of face, post-operative residuals. No compensable evaluation was granted for bilateral hearing loss or sinusitis. Service connection was not established for prostate cancer, Type II diabetes mellitus, or a lumbar spine disorder due to herbicide exposure.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability is attributable to service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability did not manifest in service or for several years thereafter and is not shown by competent evidence to be causally related to service. As such, the claim for service connection for a back disability is denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for multiple lipomas, contact dermatitis and headaches have been reopened due to the submission of new evidence. The Board finds that these conditions may be related to his military service.,The Veteran's bilateral shoulder disabilities are also considered as secondary to his service-connected low back disability.

The Board is unable to determine the outcome of the Veteran's claim as new and material evidence has been submitted, but some issues may be granted while others are denied. The appeal will be remanded for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, and thus he does not meet the criteria for a TDIU.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims to reopen his service connection claims for respiratory and thoracolumbar disorders, but denied his claim for service connection for a neck disorder. The case is remanded for further development.

The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's claimed conditions, finding that his hearing loss did not meet VA criteria for a disability and thus could not be service-connected.

The Veteran's appeals for increased rating, service connection, and reopening of previously denied claims have been withdrawn. The case is being remanded to obtain SSA records.