Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2019

The Board has granted service connection for headaches, but has remanded the remaining issues related to sleep apnea, sickle cell issues, bilateral blepharitis and early cataracts, dizziness, throat cyst removal, stroke, and head injury previously claimed as headaches.

Service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome of the right hand is granted.,Service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is denied.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for initial disability ratings in excess of 10 percent for cervical strain and lumbosacral strain due to a lack of recent VA examination.

The application to reopen the claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. For the entire period on appeal, a rating in excess of 20 percent for a cervical spine disorder is denied. An effective date prior to June 24, 2008, for the grant of service connection for a cervical spine disorder is denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient opinions provided by the VA examiners. The issues include bilateral shoulder disability, right hand joint pain, bilateral elbow and knee pain, cervical spine disability, renal cell carcinoma, neuropathy of lower extremities, osteoarthritis of left hand ring finger, hypertension, hiatal hernia with GERD, atopic dermatitis, migraine headaches, and bilateral condylar flattening indicative of degenerative joint disease of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

The Veteran's claims for heart attacks, hypertension, and neurological manifestations of thoracolumbar spine disability are remanded. Individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities is also remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for pseudofolliculitis barbae, lumbar spine disability, neck disability, right knee disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder (unspecified depressive disorder and severe alcohol use disorder) have all been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating these claims.,The Veteran's service treatment records do not show any current disabilities related to his claimed conditions.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection and ratings related to various disabilities have been dismissed. The Board has also remanded the claim of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Board has determined that the VA examinations for the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine, cervical spine, and left ankle disabilities are inadequate. Therefore, these issues have been remanded to obtain updated clinical records and a new orthopedic examination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, right elbow, bilateral knee, and left foot disorders have been denied.,There is no evidence of a nexus between the current diagnoses and active duty service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim of service connection for a cervical spine disorder due to conflicting evidence and lack of an examination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for leukemia and thrombocytopenia have been remanded due to the need for further development.,Service connection has not been established for left knee disability, right knee disability, or cervical spine disability.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right shoulder, upper back, and lower neck disabilities, finding that these conditions are at least as likely as not related to a March 1964 in-service fall.

The Veteran's cervical spine, right shoulder, lumbar spine, right elbow, right knee, skin, and hemorrhoids disabilities are being remanded for further examination to determine their current severity. The Veteran's sinusitis claim is also being remanded as the VA examiner did not provide a clear opinion regarding whether his condition had its onset in service or was otherwise etiologically related to active service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for updated VA treatment records and a comprehensive opinion regarding the etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, but the issues of entitlement to service connection for a neck disability and an acquired psychiatric disability remain pending.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability is related to his service, specifically a neck injury during active duty for training (ACDUTRA) in July 2011. The Board granted the claim of service connection.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine/neck disability, vision disability, left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, and tinnitus have been denied. The claim for service connection for headaches is being remanded.,The Board found that there was no credible evidence of a neck injury during active duty service, thus denying the Veteran's direct service connection claim for cervical spine/neck disability.

The appeal for CUE in rating decisions that failed to establish a separate rating as well as an earlier effective date for arthritis of the cervical spine is denied. The November 1981 rating decision that did not provide a separate rating for arthritis is not subject to a claim of CUE because it was subsumed by the June 1984 Board denial of that issue.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prior to July 21, 2015 rendered her unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation.