Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2017

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection of his left knee disability and granted it. The other issues on direct basis have been denied.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records and scheduling VA examinations.

The Board found no relationship between the Veteran's current back disability and his military service, including no credible evidence of continuous or recurrent symptoms during active service. The preponderance of the evidence demonstrated that arthritis did not manifest to a compensable degree within one year of service separation.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a right knee, left knee, right shoulder, left shoulder, low back, right eye, or left eye disability that is service-connected. The blood condition claim was also denied.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current right ankle disability and denied service connection for this condition. For his low back disability, the Board determined there was no evidence of an in-service injury or chronic disease, and thus denied service connection on a direct basis.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development due to issues with the most recent VA examination and a need to address radiculopathy.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability was rated at 30 percent prior to May 6, 2011. On and after May 6, 2011, the rating for his cervical spine disability has been denied as it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability is proximately due to his service-connected bilateral pes planus status post triple arthrodesis of the left foot, and thus grants service connection for this condition. The lumbar spine disability claim is denied as there is no evidence it is related to service or a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and personnel information, as well as for a new VA audiological examination. The issues of entitlement to service connection for various conditions are on appeal.

The Board has found that the Veteran does not have a current psychiatric disorder or back disability related to service. The claim for peripheral vascular disease is also denied as there was insufficient medical opinion regarding aggravation by seizure medications.

The Veteran's claims for increased rating and service connection for bilateral knee and hip conditions have been denied. The Board found that the Veteran does not have a separate left hip disability, and his current hip condition is part of his already service-connected back disability.

The Board has determined that there is no direct service connection for the Veteran's claimed lumbar spondylosis, as it was not shown to be incurred during active duty. The Board also found insufficient evidence to establish secondary service connection based on a cervical spine disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examination and consideration due to the need for an adequate VA examination of his lumbar spine disability.

The Board found that the Veteran's current low back disorder did not originate in or is otherwise related to his period of active service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's back disability, finding that it was not caused or aggravated by his service-connected knee disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased rating and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining outstanding VA treatment records and referring the TDIU claim for extraschedular consideration.

The Veteran's appeal involves multiple issues including service connection for various conditions, rating increases, and TDIU. The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including issuing a Statement of the Case on earlier effective dates and scheduling a video conference hearing.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to scheduling errors and the Veteran's failure to appear for a VA examination. The case will be returned to the AOJ after further development.

The Veteran's appeal is denied as his left knee disability has been rated at the maximum allowable under the applicable rating criteria and there are no additional issues to be addressed.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for his cervical spine disability was dismissed as he withdrew his appeal prior to the Board making a decision.