Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2019

The Board has decided that new VA examinations are needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's neck, shoulder, back, and hip disabilities. The claims for service connection will be remanded.

The Board denied service connection for lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, as well as bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's current conditions were not shown to be related to his military service.,Service connection was also denied for intractable plantar keratoma of the right foot and left foot.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and bilateral hearing loss due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.,There is no indication in the record that any of these disabilities were incurred or aggravated during active duty.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was granted with an effective date of September 3, 2003. The March 2006 rating decision assigned an earlier effective date of August 29, 2003.

The Board denied service connection for lower back and left hip disabilities, finding that they are not directly related to the Veteran's active military service. However, secondary service connection was granted as both conditions are linked to his service-connected left knee degenerative joint disease.,For TDIU, the Veteran did not meet the schedular requirements due to having more than one service-connected disability with a combined rating below 70 percent.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and no service connection issues were addressed.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of medical services received at Cape Coral Hospital on September 3, 2014 is denied because the VA urgent care clinic in Cape Coral was feasibly available to provide the treatment he received.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development to determine the onset of his low back injury and whether it is related to service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection as secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus due to insufficient opinions in the February 2017 VA examination report. The claims are being returned for further development.

The Veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is granted as service connected. The back, feet, and right hand conditions are remanded for further examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, residuals of fractured pelvis, left lower extremity, and residuals of fractured pelvis, right lower extremity were denied. The evidence did not show any limitation of motion or ankylosis that would warrant a higher rating.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease and that any current condition is not related to active service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss has been granted. The issues of entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for left ear disability, compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for bilateral hip disorder and back disorder have all been remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as there is no current diagnosis of a disability related to his active duty service. The evidence did not establish an in-service injury or disease, and the disabilities found are not shown to be causally related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to missing records and to clarify whether the Veteran served in Southwest Asia. The issues of reopening the cervical spasm and back condition claims are deferred until all missing records have been obtained.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for upper back, left and right upper extremity disorders due to incomplete medical history in previous examinations.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete service treatment records and a need for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any currently diagnosed lumbar spine disabilities.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for joint pain, cervical spine condition, lumbar spine condition, right and left shoulder conditions, right and left elbow conditions, and bilateral knee conditions due to incomplete examinations. The Veteran's claim for residuals of a shrapnel wound is also remanded.

The Board has denied service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine. The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and TDIU have been remanded.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for initial ratings higher than 20 percent for a lumbar spine disability and an initial rating higher than 10 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal seeking entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual employability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) was granted.