Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2016

The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 70 percent disabling, reflecting total occupational and social impairment due to symptoms such as gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; gross inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation or hometown.

The Veteran's back disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, diabetes mellitus, type II, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, and acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD) are all found to be related to service.,Service connection is granted for these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence of current disability severity and a need for additional examinations.

The Veteran is not entitled to VA compensation benefits in lieu of military retired pay before September 17, 1998. The issue of the calculation of compensation benefits based on a September 17, 1998, election of compensation benefits in lieu of receipt of military retired pay is being remanded for further action.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to incomplete records and further medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's currently diagnosed lumbar spine disability is not related to service or a service-connected left knee disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service treatment records and requests for further efforts to locate all available in-service hospitalization records from Ellsworth Air Force Base.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to incomplete records and the need for a current evaluation of his feasibility for vocational rehabilitation benefits.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability and generalized anxiety disorder are related to service, granting service connection for these conditions. The prostate disability and bilateral sacroiliac joint pain issues remain pending.

The Veteran's service connection claims for right hip, left hip and lumbar spine disabilities have been reopened. Service connection is granted for spondylosis of the lumbosacral spine. The Veteran's service connection claims for left shoulder, right ankle sprain and left ankle sprain disabilities remain pending.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right shoulder disability. The gastrointestinal disability, diagnosed as dyspepsia and chronic diarrhea, is found to be proximately due to or the result of his service-connected fibromyalgia. Effective dates prior to July 27, 2011, have been granted for the awards of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and fibromyalgia.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to a need for another videoconference hearing.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, with consideration of his level of education and previous work experience, do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current low back disability of arthritis of the lumbar spine is at least as likely as not related to his active service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death during the pendency of this appeal.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability and PTSD have been granted, but the rating for PTSD prior to October 14, 2014 has also been granted. The decision is mixed as some issues were granted while others were not.

The Board has granted service connection for DDD of the lumbar spine and nerve damage in the left leg and loss of strength in the legs as secondary to the DDD of the lumbar spine, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability with associated bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation during the appeal period prior to December 12, 2013. From December 12, 2013 to September 30, 2015, he was unable to secure and follow such an occupation due to his lumbar spine disability.

The Board has ordered a remand to consider additional evidence regarding the Veteran's lumbosacral strain prior to January 10, 2014.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional records and provide further examination opinions regarding the relationship between his service-connected right posterior tibialis disorder and his claimed cervical spine and lumbar spine disorders.