Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2004

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, a cervical spine disorder, and arthritis of the knees and legs. The evidence did not establish that these conditions were related to his military service.

The veteran seeks compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine with radiculopathy, alleging medical negligence by VA doctors during a left C6/C7 hemilaminectomy and nerve root decompression surgery in July 2001 at the Durham, North Carolina VA Medical Center. The claim is remanded due to incomplete records from SSA and the VA Medical Center.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for scheduling a personal hearing at the RO before a Decision Review Officer.

The VA determined that the veteran's cervical spine disability, characterized by pain and stiffness with severe limitation of motion, does not warrant an evaluation in excess of 40 percent.

The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted. The Board finds that the veteran engaged in combat with the enemy and his lay testimony regarding the stressors he experienced during his service in Saudi Arabia is accepted as conclusive evidence of their occurrence.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee and cervical spine disabilities are not related to his service. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that these conditions began during or were aggravated by his military service.

The veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating were denied. The right shoulder disability claim is pending, the cervical spine disability issue was not addressed due to lack of timely notice of disagreement, and the hemorrhoids claim remains unresolved.

The Board found no relationship between the service-connected thoracic spine disability and either a cervical or lumbar spine disability, thus denying both claims for secondary service connection.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his cervical spine disorder and arthralgia of the right ilium with large exostoses, finding that the evidence does not support a higher evaluation under applicable rating criteria.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a neck disorder and granted an increased evaluation for right shoulder subluxation and snapping. The left shoulder disability is not addressed in this decision.

The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spine disorder, finding it was incurred during service. The claims for headaches, right eye disorder, and left leg disorder are remanded for further development.

The Board denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine and thoracic spine, finding no evidence linking these conditions to active service.

The veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of multiple joints are denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's chronic acquired variously diagnosed cervical spine disorder was incurred in active service, and thus granted her claim for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected lumbar muscle spasm is rated at 40 percent, but the Board finds that this rating adequately reflects his disability. The TDIU claim was also denied as his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from obtaining and retaining all forms of substantially gainful employment.

The Board finds that the appellant's currently diagnosed respiratory disorder, back disability, and degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine are not related to his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an effective date prior to August 29, 1990 for service connection of PTSD and TDIU based on his service-connected conditions. The veteran appealed these decisions.

The veteran's claims for increased rating and total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities were denied because he failed to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause.

The veteran's claims for service connection for an eye disorder and compensable evaluation for scars of the left eyebrow and chin prior to August 30, 2002 were denied. The claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for scars after August 30, 2002 was also denied.