Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2012

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for spondylosis of the cervical and lumbar spine, finding that his back disorder was not present during or as a result of his military service. The psychiatric claim was also denied due to lack of evidence supporting the diagnosis of PTSD.

The Veteran withdrew their appeal before the Board could make a decision.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, in conjunction with his education/training and work experience, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has granted service connection for a right knee disorder, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability. Service connection was also reopened for low back and right hip disorders.

The Board finds that further development is needed for the issues of entitlement to service connection for left ankle pain and bilateral heel spurs due to potential need for a new VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess his employability due to service-connected disabilities and the collection of outstanding medical records.

The Board has determined that additional evidentiary development is necessary prior to the adjudication of the Veteran's claims. Specifically, verification of herbicide exposure while serving in Frankfurt, Germany and obtaining relevant SSA records are required.

The Board acknowledges that the Veteran's claim of service connection for a low back disability is related to his military service, specifically his deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Brightstar. However, there is no objective evidence of a diagnosed chronic disability or undiagnosed illness during service. The VA examinations did not find any current diagnosis of a low back disability.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, low back pain/lumbago, and GERD/hiatel hernia status post surgery. The Veteran's GERD is currently rated at the maximum schedular rating of 60 percent.

The Board found no credible evidence of a low back injury in service or continuity of symptomatology after service, and thus denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disorder.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for fibromyalgia and thoracolumbar spine disability were denied. The Veteran was already receiving the maximum schedular rating available under Diagnostic Code 5025 for fibromyalgia, and his thoracolumbar spine disability was rated as 'denied' based on lack of favorable ankylosis.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected lumbar and cervical spine disabilities. The TDIU claim is also dependent on the outcome of this development.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA outpatient records and scheduling the appellant for a VA psychiatric and audiology examination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to missing STRs, inadequate VA examinations, and the need to obtain workers' compensation records.

The Veteran's lumbosacral paraspinal tendonitis was not found to meet the criteria for a higher rating, as his range of motion did not warrant an evaluation in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary before the claim can be adjudicated, including scheduling a VA examination and obtaining any relevant private medical records.

The Board found that the Veteran's low back disability is not service-connected due to lack of evidence showing a link between his in-service injury and current condition.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating and TDIU due to service-connected degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his request for a Board hearing and the need to issue a Statement of the Case (SOC) regarding diabetes mellitus, type II.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back disorder and finds that it is proximately due to his service-connected osteoarthritis left knee. The evidence supports this finding, including private physician opinions linking the current low back condition to the Veteran's service-connected knee disability.