Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2008

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board found that the veteran's neck disability pre-existed her service and was not aggravated by it, thus denying her claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back pain and cervical spine condition are not related to his military service, including any in-service injuries or exposures. The claims for service connection have been denied.

The Board found that service connection for degenerative joint disease of the cervical and thoracolumbar spines is warranted, but arthritis of multiple joints (other than cervical and thoracolumbar spines) was not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board finds that the veteran does not have degenerative joint disease of the hips attributable to his service. However, there is a balance of positive and negative evidence regarding whether the veteran's degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine is related to his service. The Board concludes in favor of the veteran, finding that his cervical spine condition is more likely than not incurred during service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for residuals of cervical dysplasia and bilateral wrist repetitive use tendonitis.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if the veteran's current cervical spine disability is related to his service-connected injuries in 1968.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current cervical spine disability is not related to service or his service-connected left shoulder disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection.

The veteran's disabilities, including his service-connected lumbar and cervical spine conditions and non-service-connected left hand injury with amputation, do not preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining any form of substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience.

The Board granted a 40 percent evaluation for cervical disc disease with headaches, effective from the date of retirement.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, arthritis of the cervical spine, arthritis of the lumbar spine, and peptic ulcer. The veteran also requested a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge but later withdrew his request.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's post-operative residuals of cervical spine stenosis with degenerative disc disease and arthritis, currently rated at 60 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disability and epilepsy with associated headaches and nervous spells, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability or a link to service. The claim for reopening the epilepsy claim was also denied due to lack of new and material evidence.

The veteran's appeals for increased ratings have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeals.

The Board found that the veteran's claimed conditions, including a skin condition, dysuria, depression, memory loss and concentration problems, bilateral ankle stiffness and pain, bilateral hand pain and swelling, DJD of the cervical and lumbar spine, and bilateral patellofemoral syndrome, were not incurred in or aggravated by active duty service. The Board concluded that these conditions are not related to an undiagnosed illness or any other known clinical diagnosis.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not meet the criteria for service connection for a heart disorder or headaches. The claims of entitlement to initial disability ratings in excess of 10 percent for right foot hallux valgus and left foot hallux valgus are denied.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection of a cervical spine disorder and finds that new evidence received since the last final denial raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the underlying claim. The VA examiner will provide an opinion on whether there is a 50 percent probability or greater that any current cervical spine disorder can be related to any incident of service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for residuals of compression fractures to T-10 through L-1 and hypertrophic facet disease of the cervical spine, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under the applicable VA rating schedule.

The veteran's service-connected thoracolumbar spine and cervical spine disabilities were granted, with the thoracolumbar spine disability rated at 20 percent. The right elbow and left elbow tendonitis disabilities remain at 10 percent each.