Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2008

The veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability. The veteran did not meet the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 as he had no continuous total rating for ten years prior to his death.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for right shoulder disability, service connection for prostatitis, left elbow injury, carpal tunnel syndrome of the right wrist, and chronic adjustment disorder.,Service connection was not granted for any condition as the evidence did not support the veteran's claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 is denied as there is no evidence of carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.

The VA denied increased ratings for the veteran's spine disabilities, finding that the conditions did not meet the criteria for higher evaluations.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and cervical/lumbar spine conditions, did not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment prior to September 26, 2003. Therefore, an earlier effective date for TDIU is denied.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to schedule a videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the St. Petersburg, Florida RO.

The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disorder, lumbosacral spine disorder, and hepatitis C.,There is no evidence of any chronic conditions related to the veteran's military service.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a neck disability, residuals of fracture of an eye socket, or residuals of fracture of the nose related to military service. The sinus disability is also denied.

The Board found that the veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disabilities are not related to his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus denied these claims.

The veteran's cervical spine and lumbar/thoracic spine disabilities have been evaluated at the maximum available ratings of 30 percent. The right knee, ankle, and wrist disabilities have not met the criteria for higher evaluations.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that the veteran's claim was not legally meritorious due to the lack of a formal request to reopen his claim. The appeal is therefore denied.

The Board denied service connection for migratory joint pain and found that the veteran's spine disabilities, including degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar and cervical spines, do not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent. The veteran was also denied compensable ratings for arthritis of his shoulders.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current disability of hypertension, cervical spine disability, or lumbar spine disability that is related to his military service. The VA examiner opined that these disabilities are more likely due to post-service factors and there was no evidence linking them to service.

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations and further development of his claims.

The Board found that the veteran's cervical spine disability, characterized by moderately limited range of motion with forward flexion consistently in excess of 15 degrees and without chronic neurologic manifestations, does not warrant a rating higher than 20 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spine disabilities are not related to service. The preponderance of evidence is against the claims.

The Board found that the veteran's cervical spine disability is not related to his service or any service-connected conditions, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's service connection claims for lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, finding no evidence to support a direct or secondary relationship between these conditions and his active duty service.

The veteran's GERD is not shown to be manifested by persistently recurrent gastric distress with dysphagia, pyrosis, and regurgitation, accompanied by substantial arm or shoulder pain, productive of considerable impairment of health.,The veteran does not have a medically supportable diagnosis of PTSD due to a verified stressor or other potentially verifiable event or incident of his period of active service.,By extending the benefit of the doubt to the veteran, his disability manifested by an anxiety disorder is due to disease that was incurred in active service.,The veteran does not have a current disability manifesting cervical spine pain due to any event or incident of his active service.,The veteran's lumbosacral spine pain is not shown to be due to an injury or other event or incident of the veteran's period of military service.

The veteran's cervical spine disability is rated at 20% and his major depressive disorder, aggravated by the cervical spine disability, also warrants a 20% rating. The veteran's appeal for higher ratings remains denied.