Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2017

The Veteran's OSA, right shoulder, cervical spine, and lumbar spine disabilities are found to be aggravated by his service-connected bronchial asthma with COPD. His headaches are related to his cervical spine DDD.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to obtain medical records and opinions regarding the etiology of his claimed knee, neck, and back disabilities.

The Board determined that service connection is not warranted for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, cervical spine disability, and erectile dysfunction as they are not related to active duty service.,Service connection was denied for all three conditions due to a lack of evidence linking them to service.

The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability is currently evaluated at a 20 percent rating, effective prior to July 15, 2011. The cervical spine condition has been service connected and rated as direct.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his cervical spine disability. The TDIU claim is also being remanded.

The Veteran's right knee disability was reduced from a 30 percent rating to a 10 percent rating, effective September 1, 2010. The claim for restoration of the 30 percent rating is granted.,New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for cervical spine disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, cervical radiculopathy, and lumbar radiculopathy due to lack of evidence supporting his assertions. The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen any of these claims.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings and service connection were denied. An earlier effective date claim for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities was granted on April 18, 2012.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability and psoriatic arthritis have been granted with appropriate ratings, with the cervical spine disability receiving a 20% rating effective October 5, 2015.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a diagnosed cervical spine disability, to include cervical and pelvic non-allopathic lesions. The VA examinations did not find any chronic condition or objective evidence of a disability.

The Veteran's neck disability was rated at 10% prior to October 7, 2007 and increased to 20% from that date until January 8, 2013. The Board found the evidence did not support a higher rating for any period.

The Board denied a rating greater than 30 percent for the Veteran's headaches associated with his service-connected cervical spine disability, finding that the criteria for such a higher rating were not met.

The Veteran's appeal was denied for initial ratings in excess of 20 percent for his service-connected conditions. The Board found that the evidence did not support higher ratings based on the severity of his symptoms and findings.

The Veteran's service-connected right knee, cervical spine, and lumbar spine disabilities did not render him unemployable prior to April 16, 2012. The Board found that the combined rating of these conditions was less than 70% and thus could not meet the criteria for a TDIU under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). As such, the Veteran's claim for a TDIU on an extra-schedular basis prior to April 16, 2012 was denied.

The Veteran's lumbar and cervical spine conditions are found to have been aggravated by service, warranting service connection.,Bilateral hearing loss is not supported by the evidence of record.

The Veteran's right and left knee disabilities, as well as his sleep apnea, were not incurred in or aggravated by service. The Veteran's cervical spine disability was granted based on new evidence submitted since the last rating decision.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's neck disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and may not be presumed to have been so incurred. The Veteran's chronic, infectious skin condition of the feet (athlete's foot) was also not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Veteran's right hip bursitis and left foot hallux valgus are service-connected, with the latter receiving a higher initial rating. The cervical spine disability and degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine also meet the criteria for service connection.

The Board has remanded both issues for additional development due to inadequate examination reports. The Veteran's cervical spine disorder and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome claims are being returned for further consideration.

The Veteran's service connection for a headache disability and PTSD have been granted. However, the claim for an increased rating for PTSD has been denied.