Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2015

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service personnel records and attempting to obtain medical records from civilian hospitals. The Veteran's claims for service connection will be reviewed after these developments.

The Board has remanded the case for a new VA examination to determine the etiology of any current cervical spine, bilateral hip and bilateral shoulder disabilities. The Veteran's service connection claims are pending.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining inpatient records from Fort Hood and scheduling a VA examination. The Veteran's claim will be readjudicated after this additional development.

The Board found that the Veteran's current back, bilateral knee, and neck disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by service. The preponderance of evidence is against a finding of a nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence was not received to reopen the claim of service connection for arthritis of the cervical spine, secondary to service-connected cervical lymphadenitis.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not include the anatomical loss or loss of use of both hands, blindness in both eyes with 5/200 visual acuity, deep partial thickness burns that have resulted in contractures with limitation of motion of two or more extremities or of at least one extremity and the trunk, full thickness or subdermal burns that have resulted in contractures with limitation of motion of one or more extremities or the trunk, or residuals of an inhalation injury. Therefore, his claim for a special home adaptation grant is denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's diagnosed cervical spine, lumbosacral spine, right shoulder, bilateral elbow, and bilateral knee conditions were not related to service or manifest within one year of separation. Therefore, service connection was denied for all issues.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and arranging for an examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The Board found that a current cervical spine disability did not begin during service or within one year thereafter, and is not related to any in-service disease or injury. The Veteran's claim for service connection was denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional examinations and development due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between his current disabilities and service.

The Board has denied all service connection claims, finding no evidence of current disabilities or in-service events that would support the Veteran's claims.

The Veteran does not have a back disability, to include a left lower extremity nerve disability, a neck disability, a knee disability, a shoulder disability, an ankle disability, or a hip disability, that is related to his service.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and chronic neck/cervical spine disorder, bilateral hip disorder, and right knee disorder. Service connection was denied for loss of teeth #7 and 10 due to lack of in-service trauma. The Veteran's TBI claim is pending.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disorder and cervical spine disorder, finding that his current conditions are related to his military service. The dental condition claim was withdrawn by the Veteran.

The Veteran's claims for right arm fracture residuals, left elbow contusion residuals, and left hip disorder were denied as not shown during service or related to a period of military service. The claim for cervical spine disorders was also denied due to lack of evidence showing the conditions were incurred in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current neck disability, including cervical radiculopathy, is related to service and grants service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's DDD of the cervical spine is found to be proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, specifically his DDD of the lumbar spine and right leg shortening. His prostate cancer was not incurred in or aggravated by service and may not be presumed to have been incurred therein.

The Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for cervical and right shoulder disabilities were denied as the evidence did not show that her symptoms more nearly approximated the criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent or 10 percent, respectively.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates have been granted. The initial compensable rating for right shoulder bursitis prior to January 29, 2013 has also been granted.

The Veteran's service-connected arthritis of the cervical spine and keloidal acne with scar and recurrent infection are not granted as service connected or for increased rating, respectively. The Board found no medical evidence linking the Veteran's current conditions to his military service.