Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2013

The Board found that the Veteran's current back disorder is not causally or etiologically related to her military service, and arthritis did not manifest within one year of her discharge from service. Therefore, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board finds that the evidence does not support a finding of service connection for any of the claimed conditions.,There is no clear and unmistakable evidence (CUE) to overturn previous denial decisions.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's service connection claim for a back disorder is granted, but only if it is found to be directly related to his military service. The secondary service connection claim for the back disorder due to his service-connected bilateral knee disability was not addressed in this decision.

The Veteran's low back disability is currently rated as 20 percent disabling prior to May 19, 2011 and 40 percent disabling from that date. The Board finds no evidence of forward flexion limited to 30 degrees or less, unfavorable ankylosis, incapacitating episodes, or other criteria warranting a higher rating.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining his SSA records and rescheduling him for VA examinations and a hearing if he desires.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination to assess his service-connected lumbar spine disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran's lumbar spine DDD has been rated at 40 percent since July 5, 2007. For the period beginning February 22, 2012, a rating of 60 percent for lumbar spine DDD is granted. Ratings of 30 percent are assigned for right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for vision disorder, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, cervical spine strain with degenerative arthritis, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The evidence did not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.

The Board found that the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates were denied as there was no evidence of a claim prior to November 1, 2001.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected mechanical low back pain with bilateral radiculopathy of the lower extremities is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability, but denied secondary service connection due to aggravation by his right ankle disability.

The case is being remanded to obtain additional VA treatment records, address secondary service connection claims for orthopedic disabilities, and provide a VA examination.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for lumbar strain was denied as his notice of disagreement with the April 2008 rating decision was not timely filed, and thus the April 2008 rating decision became final. The proper effective date is set at April 24, 2009.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary before the claims can be fully adjudicated.

The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was denied, as it did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. His claim for service connection for coronary artery disease was also denied.

The Veteran's low back disability was granted a 40 percent rating effective November 17, 2003. The appeal is for an increased rating prior to this date.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current low back disability that is related to service, and thus denies his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar spine and right knee disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling new examinations.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining records from private healthcare providers and seeking reasonable efforts to obtain these records. The Veteran's claims for service connection on appeal will be readjudicated after this development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability, diagnosed as lumbar and thoracic degenerative disc disease, began in service and is therefore granted service connection.