Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2012

The appeal has been withdrawn by the appellant through his authorized representative.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ankle, right knee, and cervical and lumbar spine disabilities. The decision is mixed as some issues were denied while others are pending.

The Board found that the Veteran's cervical spine, shoulder, and arm conditions were not incurred or aggravated in service. The claims for these conditions are therefore denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including PTSD, neck disability, tinnitus, left ankle and bilateral foot disabilities, and asthma. The decision also noted that there was no evidence of a current psychiatric disability.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability is currently rated at 10 percent, but the evidence does not support a higher rating as his range of motion and symptoms do not warrant an increase.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain missing service treatment records and to provide the Veteran with a VA examination for his cervical spine and left knee disabilities. The claims are being remanded to allow for these actions.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a TDIU rating was denied as there is no evidence that he was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment prior to January 13, 2005.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining private medical records and arranging for a comprehensive VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to assess his employability due to service-connected disabilities and consideration of whether an extraschedular TDIU rating should be considered.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, and residuals of a right rib fracture. The appeals were decided on the basis that there was no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and to schedule him for VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Board finds that the Veteran's chronic tension headaches had their onset in service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The initial evaluations for his cervical spine and lumbar spine disabilities were also granted, with the effective date being September 26, 2003.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine and degenerative arthritis and spondylolysis of the thoracolumbar spine. The Board has remanded these claims due to a need to locate VA medical records from 1982-1993 and to attempt to obtain a nexus opinion from the identified VA physician who provided a verbal opinion on his back condition.

The Veteran's cervical spine disorder was not incurred or aggravated in service and is not proximately due to, or the result of, his service-connected lumbar disc disease. The Board finds that there is no causal relationship between the Veteran's current cervical spine disorder and his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current neck disability is causally related to his service, and thus grants service connection for a neck disability.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development to address whether the Veteran's service-connected lumbar and/or thoracic spine disabilities aggravated his preexisting cervical spine disability.

The Veteran's initial increased ratings for mitral regurgitation, cervical spine disability, thoracic spine disability, and right groin disability have been granted. The effective date is not specified.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a right hip disability, left shoulder AC joint separation, cervical spine disability, and neurological disability of the right lower extremity. The decision found that there was no current disability in these areas.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and VA vocational rehabilitation records. The examiner must also provide an opinion regarding whether the service-connected left fifth finger aggravated his carpal tunnel syndrome.