Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2014

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim and found that his cervical spondylosis with C5-6 and C6-7 stenosis is related to his service-connected lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome with degenerative changes in spondylosis of the dorsal spine, thus granting service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including psychiatric disorders and gastrointestinal issues, were denied as there is no current disability or evidence of a causal relationship to active military service.,Service connection was not granted due to lack of continuity of symptomatology since separation from service.

The Veteran's appeal of all remaining issues has been withdrawn by his representative.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's neck disability warrants a rating of 20 percent effective September 22, 2012.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's cervical, lumbar, and thoracic spine disabilities are not service-connected. The evidence does not establish a direct relationship between these conditions and his military service.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations for cervical spine strain and degenerative disc disease of the L4-5 with facet arthrosis were denied as his conditions did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation under VA rating criteria.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current cervical spine disability is related to his military service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current lumbar and cervical spine disabilities are not related to service, and therefore denied his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal was denied on all issues, including the initial rating for left long finger fracture and service connection claims for psychiatric disorder, cervical disorder, low back disorder, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, and erectile dysfunction. The appeals were not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a Travel Board hearing. The issues of entitlement to increased ratings and service connection are still pending.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a neck disability and an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, are denied. The Board finds that the Veteran does not have current disabilities of either condition.

The Veteran's appeal of the claim for service connection for a left shoulder disability has been withdrawn. The Board is dismissing this issue.

The Veteran's claim for a krankcycle and associated educational materials has been granted as the evidence shows that the record contains valid medical justification for providing such equipment.

The Board has remanded the case for clarification of VA examination opinions and further development.

The Board has reopened the claims for right elbow and right hand disabilities, granted service connection for chronic sinusitis, cervical spondylosis, and hypertension, and denied all other issues on appeal.

The Veteran's initial rating for thoracolumbar spine degenerative joint disease and cervical spine strain has been granted at a 40 percent evaluation since October 14, 2010. The appeal is not about service connection but rather the assignment of an initial rating.

The Board found that the Veteran's cervical spine disorder is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service and did not manifest within one year of service discharge. As such, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is being remanded due to inadequate examination and incomplete medical records.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability, bipolar disorder, and low back degenerative joint disease have been granted service connection. The rating for bipolar disorder has been increased to 50 percent. Service connection for the low back condition is denied as there are no separate compensable neurological disabilities or ankylosis of the lumbar spine.