Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2013

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional medical development and readjudication of his claims.

The Board found no current disability of the shins or cervical spine, and thus denied service connection for shin splints and a cervical spine disorder.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for cervical spine disability and hypertension has been denied as there is no competent evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current lumbar spine, cervical spine, and left knee disabilities are not related to service. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that these conditions had their onset in service or within one year following service discharge.

The Board determined that a disability of the cervical spine, specifically cervical strain, was not shown to have had onset during service or be otherwise related to an injury in service. The Veteran's claim for service connection is denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's pre-existing neck fracture may have been aggravated by an in-service injury, but there is not clear and unmistakable evidence to support this. The claim for service connection for other cervical spine disabilities remains unresolved.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disorders, as well as secondary radiculopathy. The cervical spine disorder was deemed not incurred in service due to lack of pre-existing condition noted at entry, while the thoracolumbar spine disorders were found unrelated to service.

The Veteran seeks service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine. The case is being remanded due to inadequate medical opinions and missing VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cervical spine disability does not warrant a higher initial rating of 10% or 20% prior to and since March 7, 2011 respectively.

The Board found that the Veteran's current hearing loss, headache disability, cervical spine disorder, and visual impairment are not related to his service from September 1981 to September 1985.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's back and neck disabilities are not service-connected, as they are not shown to have been incurred or aggravated by his military service. The VA examiner concluded that it is less likely than not that these conditions were caused or aggravated by his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability due to incomplete development and need for additional medical examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to the Veteran's request for a Travel Board hearing, and the claim of service connection for low back disability is still pending as new evidence was submitted but not considered in the previous rating decision.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder disability, neck disability, and bilateral hearing loss. The evidence did not establish that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by active military service.

The Board denied service connection for heart disability, headaches, right ear hearing loss, hypertension, and cervical spine joint and disc disease due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or the Agent Orange exposure. The Veteran's claims were not reopened as new evidence did not meet the criteria for reopening.

The Board finds that the Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the cervical and lumbar spine is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by his service-connected psoriasis and shell fragment wound muscle injury.,The Board also finds that the Veteran's psoriatic arthritis of the bilateral hips is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by his service-connected psoriasis.

The Veteran's appeal was denied for various issues, including service connection for a sleep disorder and higher initial ratings for certain disabilities. The decision did not address the issue of TDIU.

The Board found no evidence to support the Veteran's claims for service connection of a cervical spine disorder and right upper extremity radiculopathy, concluding that there is insufficient medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for depression and osteoarthritis of the right knee, as well as his claim for TDIU, are all granted.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining updated VA and private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the current severity of his cervical spine disability.