Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2009

The veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability and neck disability, as well as the ratings for his left knee and low back disabilities, are being remanded for further development.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as there was no medical evidence or competent opinion linking a cardiovascular disease to any incident of service and no evidence that diabetes played a causative role in his death.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical spine, lumbar spine, hemorrhoids, and right wrist ganglion cyst excision disabilities.

The veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for right arm numbness, vision disorder, and digestive system disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disability as there was no credible evidence linking the current condition to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD, a neck disorder, and the reopening of a previously denied claim for a low back disorder due to lack of evidence supporting an association between these conditions and the veteran's active duty.

The Board denied service connection for a thoracic spine disability, cervical spine disability, and bilateral hearing loss as there was no competent medical evidence supporting the existence of these conditions. The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his left testicle varicocele was also denied.

The Board found that the preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the appellant's current cervical spine disability is related to ACDUTRA or any other period of service.

The veteran's cervical spine disability was denied a rating in excess of 10 percent as the evidence did not support a higher evaluation based on range of motion, neurological findings, or other factors.

The veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for a cervical spine condition, to include as secondary to right knee and left ankle disabilities.

The appeal is remanded for additional development, including an examination and opinion from a physician regarding the etiology of any mid-upper low back pathology.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development and a determination on whether a timely substantive appeal has been filed.

The Board denied service connection for cervical and thoracic spine disabilities, as well as the reopening of claims for a chronic skin rash, right arm disability, and right shoulder disability.

The Board denied the veteran's requests to reopen claims for service connection for bipolar disorder, left knee disability, and neck (cervical spine) disability as no new evidence was found to be material.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and sinusitis as not being incurred in or aggravated by active military service. The veteran's major depressive disorder was found to be manifested by no more than impairment of short-term memory, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.

The Board denied service connection for degenerative changes of the cervical spine postoperative, finding no evidence linking the condition to service or a service-connected disability.

The Board denied service connection for all the claimed conditions as they were not shown to be related to the veteran's period of active duty.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability, and denied increased ratings for hypertension and cervical spine strain.

The veteran did not submit a timely appeal of the decision which assigned an initial rating for his left knee disorder, and the Board denied higher ratings for thoracic spine fracture residuals and cervical spine injury residuals.

The Board granted service connection for a cervical spine disorder, finding that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the previously-denied claim. The veteran's current degenerative changes in the cervical spine are likely due to an injury sustained during his military service.