Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2018

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current neck condition, including cervical degenerative disc disease, is due to an in-service assault and trauma. As a result, service connection for this condition is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed disabilities are not related to his active service and have denied all of his claims for service connection.

The Board finds that the Veteran's low back and neck disabilities are related to service, warranting service connection.

The Veteran's TDIU claim has been denied as his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including new examinations to assess the functional impairment resulting from his service-connected cervical and lumbar spine disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current cervical spine and left shoulder disabilities are not related to his active military service, and therefore denied both claims.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, encompassing all her listed conditions as part of the grant for fibromyalgia/polyarthralgia. The specific disabilities are not shown to be related to service.

The Board found that the Veteran's back and neck disabilities were not incurred in or aggravated by service, as there was no evidence of such during his active duty. The diagnoses provided are from private physicians and do not establish a direct link to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current cervical spine condition is related to an in-service fall injury, and therefore service connection for this disability is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his herniated lumbosacral spine condition, cervical spine arthritis, and left shoulder arthritis have been denied as there is no evidence of ankylosis or incapacitating episodes meeting the criteria for higher ratings under the applicable rating schedule.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and service connection have been denied. The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a cervical spine disorder, which is now pending.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records and VA examinations to determine the etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the lower back and arthritis of the neck, finding that new and material evidence had been submitted. The Board then granted service connection for both conditions.,Service connection was established for arthritis of the lower back (arthritis of the spine) due to a VA examiner's opinion linking it to the Veteran's in-service duties as a loadmaster.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of a back and neck disability was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The claim is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability with right lower extremity radiculopathy and neck disability are service connected. The issues of reopening the claim for a low back disability and granting service connection for a neck disability have been resolved in favor of the Veteran.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing an addendum medical opinion regarding the relationship between his cervical spine condition and service-connected right shoulder disability. The VA examiner will also provide opinions on whether the Veteran's cervical spine condition was caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right shoulder disability.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the cervical spine disorder, left shoulder disorder, and bilateral hearing loss claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's back and neck disabilities are related to his service, with the back disability being aggravated by service.

The Veteran's initial rating for her degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine was granted at 20 percent, effective January 24, 2009. The Board found that throughout the appeal period, the disability most nearly approximated limitation of forward flexion to 30 degrees.