Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board found that the veteran's current back disorder is not related to his service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has granted a 40% rating for the veteran's service-connected chronic lumbosacral strain with degenerative changes, effective prior to May 21, 1999.

The veteran's lumbosacral strain is productive of severe functional impairment, but the back disability does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation as it does not involve pronounced intervertebral disc syndrome or ankylosis.

The Board has determined that the claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability is not well grounded, and thus denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder, histoplasmosis and its residuals, hearing loss disability, tinnitus, and lumbar back strain with degenerative disc disease. The RO granted a 40 percent evaluation for the lumbar condition effective April 12, 1995.

The Board found no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current low back disorder to his military service, including a 1968 surgery. The claim was denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability is well-grounded and grants this claim. The issue of service connection for left leg disability is inextricably intertwined with the back disability claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current cervical strain, left knee chondromalacia, and lumbosacral strain are all related to his active service. The original rating of 20 percent for the low back disability is granted.

The Board found no medical evidence linking the appellant's current conditions to his military service, and thus denied all claims for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disorder was not well-grounded and denied it.

The VA has determined that the veteran's disabilities do not warrant a higher disability evaluation based on current symptomatology.,The VA has determined that the veteran's right foot disability does not warrant a higher disability evaluation based on current symptomatology.,The VA has determined that the veteran's left leg muscle group XI disability does not warrant a higher disability evaluation based on current symptomatology.,The VA has determined that the veteran's thigh, hip, and buttock disability does not warrant a higher disability evaluation based on current symptomatology.

The Board denied increased evaluations for COPD and lumbosacral strain as residuals of service-connected shell fragment wounds, finding that the evidence did not warrant an increase in disability ratings.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a waiver of premiums on his National Service Life Insurance policy is denied. The Board found that there were no circumstances beyond the veteran's control which prevented him from filing a claim for waiver of premiums prior to December 1995.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including macular degeneration, prostate disorder, peripheral neuropathy, low back disorder, generalized arthritis, lung disorder, and impotence are not well-grounded. The evidence does not support a causal relationship between these conditions and his military service.

The veteran's claim for service connection for the residuals of a low back injury is denied as not well grounded.

The Board has granted a higher evaluation for the veteran's low back pain, increasing it from zero to 10 percent.

The Board found no causal link between the veteran's current back disorders and his service, concluding that they were not incurred or aggravated by military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran is not entitled to an evaluation in excess of 40 percent for his service-connected osteoporosis and spondylosis of the lumbar spine, as well as a higher evaluation for residuals of fracture of the descending ramus of the left pubic bone and ascending ramus of the left ischium. The veteran's combined disability rating does not meet the criteria for a total rating under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a).

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased rating for rheumatic heart disease, service connection for a back disorder as secondary to rheumatic heart disease, and service connection for an esophageal disorder. The TDIU claim was also denied.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to lack of jurisdiction, as the veteran failed to file a timely substantive appeal for the September 1997 RO decision denying service connection for left knee and low back disabilities. The right knee instability and arthritis are rated at 10 percent prior to April 7, 1997, and since then.