Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2016

The Board found that the Veteran's cervical spine, lumbar spine, and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome disabilities were not related to service. The evidence did not show a chronic disability in service or within one year of discharge, and there was no medical nexus between current disabilities and service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and scheduling VA examinations to assess his cervical spine condition, lumbar IVDS, and bowel dysfunction.

The Veteran's degenerative changes of the cervical spine have been manifested by pain, tenderness, weakness, spasms and guarding, fatigability, flare-ups interfering with sitting and movement and causing a further loss of 5 to 10 degrees of motion in all spheres, and forward flexion limited to 30 degrees at worst; but not by forward flexion limited to 15 degrees or less, ankylosis, or incapacitating episodes. As such, the Veteran's condition does not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent.

The Board found that the Veteran's current cervical spine disorder, to include arthritis, was not related to his service and denied service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's dermatitis was granted service connection as a preexisting condition that did not worsen during his final period of active duty. The cervical spine disability was denied due to lack of evidence showing it was incurred or aggravated by service.

The Veteran's cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine conditions are not service-connected as there is no evidence of chronic disability in service or within one year thereafter. The VA examiner opined that the current spine conditions are less likely related to any event or spine condition noted in service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a skin disability, cervical spine disability, hepatitis, left knee disability and back disability. The decision found that new evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate any of these claims.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the AOJ for preparation of an SOC and consideration of his claims, including TDIU.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities are denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between his current conditions and his military service.

The Board has granted the Veteran's application to reopen his claim for service connection for lumbar spine fusion, arthritis of the lumbar and cervical. The Board also found that he is entitled to a TDIU rating due to his service-connected PTSD.

The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spine disability, but denied the Veteran's increased rating claims and other issues on appeal. The decision is mixed as some issues are granted while others are not.

The Veteran's service-connected CAD has resulted in exercise tolerance limited to approximately 3 METs, resulting in angina since at least December 2, 2015. A 60 percent rating is granted for CAD.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings were denied as his service-connected conditions did not meet the criteria for higher evaluations under applicable rating criteria.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including new examinations and consideration of all evidence added since the May 2015 supplemental statement of the case.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn by the appellant, resulting in the dismissal of his claims.

The Veteran's claims for service connection of various conditions were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions are related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and a need for additional VA examination.

The Board has found that the Veteran's Parkinson's disease is service-connected due to herbicide exposure during his active duty at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base. The lumbar and cervical spine claims are remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain the Veteran's service treatment records, as well as private medical records. The claims will be remanded for these purposes.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD, cervical spine disability, and bilateral shoulder disability. The Veteran's claims were based on direct evidence of a link between his in-service experiences and the current disabilities.