Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection have been denied. The appeals are based on various disabilities, but no presumption or secondary theory of service connection was claimed.

The Board found that the veteran's claims for secondary service connection for degenerative changes of the lumbar spine and entrapment ulnar neuropathy at the left elbow, as secondary to a service-connected left knee disability, are not well grounded.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for frostbite of the feet, a neck disorder, and a low back disorder due to lack of competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected intervertebral disc syndrome of the lumbar spine does not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher evaluation, and thus denied his claim for an increased rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder and allergic rhinitis, finding no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his period of active service.,For the increased rating claim, the Board found that while the veteran's anxiety disorder is productive of not more than definite social and industrial impairment, it does not warrant an increase in disability rating beyond 30 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for low back pain and peripheral neuropathy, finding that they are not well-grounded.

The veteran's low back disorder is rated at 40 percent, and he meets the criteria for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than October 28, 1997 for the grant of service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative joint disease.

The Board found that the veteran's current low back disability, including arthritis, is not etiologically related to service and denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's PTSD is rated at 100 percent effective October 7, 1995. The left hip disability and lumbosacral strain are both rated at their maximum allowable evaluations.

The Board found that the veteran's low and upper back disorders are not well grounded, as there is no evidence demonstrating a direct link to her service-connected bilateral postoperative residuals of arthroplasties with hammertoes and callosities.

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Board granted a rating of 50 percent for the veteran's service-connected low back disorder, finding that it was aggravated by his left knee disability.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a low back disorder, but it is not well-grounded. The claim for secondary service connection to left knee disability remains denied. The rating for postoperative residuals of surgery for chondromalacia of the left knee continues to be 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability is not well-grounded and denied. The claim for an increased rating for left great toe disability was also denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between the current condition and service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disorder, skin cancer secondary to Agent Orange exposure in service, and cancer of the larynx and tongue secondary to Agent Orange exposure in service. The claim for increased rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine was granted.

The Board found that the veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and a back disorder are not well-grounded. The evidence did not establish a link between any current conditions and military service.

The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain with mild L5 disc disease, rated at 10 percent effective May 1, 1991.

The VA determined that the veteran's lumbar strain with degenerative disc disease does not warrant a rating higher than 20 percent.

The Board has dismissed the appeals of the denial of service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome, chondromalacia of the left knee, and defective hearing. The claim of service connection for a lumbar spine disorder is denied as not well-grounded.