Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2014

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to reassess the severity of his service-connected disabilities and their impact on his employability.

The Board has granted a 40 percent disability rating for the Veteran's lumbar spondylosis prior to March 31, 2011. The Veteran's disability is rated under the general rating formula for diseases and injuries of the spine.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA PTSD examination and consideration of the issues related to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and an earlier effective date were denied. The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability is currently rated as 10 percent, PTSD as 30 percent, but the effective date of service connection for PTSD remains November 30, 2009.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have cold injury residuals or a back disability causally related to his service and therefore denied both claims.

The case is being remanded for further development, including obtaining SSA records and VA treatment records. The Veteran's claim of whether the January 1978 rating decision denying service connection for a back condition was based on clear and unmistakable error (CUE) has not been adjudicated.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him incapable of gainful employment consistent with his educational background and occupational experience.

Service connection has been granted for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, hearing loss, arthralgia (primarily affecting the back and hands), chronic fatigue, and a pituitary/brain tumor.,PTSD remains without an assigned rating.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for left knee arthritis with scar or left knee instability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disorder is at least as likely as not incurred during his active duty service, and thus grants entitlement to service connection for a low back disorder.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease at T12-L1 and L1-2, which includes IVDS, spondylosis, and facet arthropathy, is related to his service-connected bilateral pes planus.

The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbosacral strain is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination and obtaining outstanding VA treatment records.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any current low back disability. The claim will be reconsidered after this additional development.

The Veteran's lumbar and neck disabilities are rated at 10 percent each, effective May 9, 2012. The conditions do not meet criteria for higher ratings based on limitation of motion or pain.

The Veteran's chronic lumbosacral strain with disc herniation has been manifested by complaints of pain, but there is no evidence of incapacitating episodes or neurological manifestations for which service connection has already been established. The current disability does not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unemployable, and the Board grants entitlement to a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to his time as a Marine jet mechanic, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability, sinusitis, and left knee disability due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board is remanding the Veteran's case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and providing the Veteran with a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed lumbar spine disorder and bilateral knee disability.