Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2013

The Veteran's lumbar degenerative disc disease was rated at 20 percent before September 17, 2012 and increased to 40 percent from that date.,The Veteran is currently rated at 40 percent for his lumbar degenerative disc disease.

The Board finds that the Veteran is not entitled to service connection for his bilateral hip DJD or low back condition as there is no evidence of a chronic disability during service, within one year after separation from service, or related to service.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development and consideration, including obtaining medical records and providing the Veteran with an addendum opinion from a VA examiner.

The Veteran's lumbar strain resulted in reduced range of motion, but did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under VA rating criteria. The initial rating prior to August 4, 2009 was granted at 20 percent and a subsequent increase to 10 percent was also granted starting from that date.

The Board has remanded the case due to missing records and an addendum opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's low back disorder and his service-connected pes planus.

The Board found that the Veteran's back disorder did not have its onset in service, is otherwise unrelated to his military service, and was not manifest within one year of discharge. The initial compensable ratings for hypertension and rhinitis were also denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's chronic low back disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service, nor may degenerative joint disease (i.e. osteoarthritis) be presumed to have been so incurred.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a Travel Board hearing at the RO. The issues of service connection for a back disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, are pending.

The Board denied an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability prior to December 6, 2010.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain an examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's low back disability, specifically whether it is secondary to his service-connected prostate cancer.

The Board found that the Veteran's current low back disability did not have onset in service and was not caused by his active military service, thus denying his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's initial claim for a low back disability was granted with an initial noncompensable evaluation effective December 1, 2008. The VA increased the evaluation to 20 percent beginning September 15, 2011, but did not go back to December 1, 2008. The Board found that the Veteran's low back disability met criteria for a 10% evaluation from December 1, 2008, to September 14, 2011, and denied any higher evaluations.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional evidence and a supplemental opinion from an examiner.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability, initially rated as 0 percent for lumbosacral strain from February 8, 2008 to April 26, 2013, was recharacterized and assigned a 20 percent rating effective April 26, 2013. The new rating includes intervertebral disc syndrome with associated radiculopathy of the right lower extremity.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's claims, including consideration of old and new criteria for evaluating spine disabilities, as well as entitlement to an extraschedular evaluation and a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability.

The Board has granted service connection for the claimed conditions and assigned a 20% disability rating effective from the date of the decision.

The Veteran's claim regarding the reduction of his disability rating from 100 percent to 40 percent for DDD of the lumbar spine is being remanded due to procedural defects in the previous rating decision.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar strain with degenerative changes, right shoulder tendinitis, and a cervical strain with degenerative changes. The Veteran's current diagnoses are related to the injury he sustained in service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings under applicable diagnostic codes.

The Veteran's service-connected low back disability is rated at 10 percent, and his right shoulder subluxation is rated at 20 percent. Both conditions are not shown to warrant higher ratings based on the current evidence of record.