Neck / cervical spine decisions — 2020

The Board denied service connection for a neck disability, left hand tremors as secondary to a neck disability, and hypertension. The Veteran's neck disability is not shown to have had onset during active duty or within one year of discharge from his first period of active duty. His left hand tremors are not related to active duty service. Hypertension became manifest between his first and second periods of active service but did not increase in severity during active duty.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine, left shoulder, and right shoulder disabilities due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's right ankle disorder, scar from surgery, cervical spine degenerative spondylosis, headaches, and bilateral shoulder disorders are all granted service connection.,An initial rating in excess of 10 percent for the right ankle disorder and scar is remanded.

The Board denied service connection for joint pain of the fingers and toes and a cervical spine condition, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims.

The Board granted service connection for a cervical spine disability, but denied the remaining issues. The Veteran's stomach disability is remanded due to insufficient medical opinion regarding its relation to service and/or asbestos exposure. His deep vein thrombosis of the bilateral lower extremity is also remanded as there are conflicting opinions on its etiology. Service connection for his lumbar spine disability is remanded due to insufficient medical opinion. The Veteran's right forearm and hand disability is remanded due to insufficient medical opinion regarding causation.

The Board has determined that the claims for neck, back, right shoulder, and migraine disabilities should be remanded due to deficiencies in the medical opinion provided. The Veteran's VA treatment records and private treatment records from his primary care provider and a previous injury need to be obtained.

The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for a neck disability, as it is not clear if the Veteran's current condition is related to his active duty service or any other factor. The VA needs to obtain additional medical opinions and evidence before making a final decision.

The Board has denied a higher rating for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease and remanded the issues of service connection for cervical radiculopathy and TDIU.

The Veteran's initial ratings for right and left knee chondromalacia disabilities have been denied as they do not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings. The cervical spine disability was also denied, with a rating of 10% assigned from February 19, 2011 to May 29, 2019.

The Board denied service connection for left shoulder, right shoulder, and cervical spine disabilities due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development and evaluation of his service-connected disabilities. The Board finds that there are no clear errors in the previous decisions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability, neck disability, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, MDD, adjustment disorder, and borderline personality disorder) due to lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated during active service.

The Veteran withdrew his claims of earlier effective dates for cervical strain, thoracolumbar strain, left hip strain, and right hip strain. The Board dismissed these claims as the Veteran withdrew them.

The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine and bilateral pes planus, finding that these conditions are related to service. The Veteran's carpal tunnel syndrome claims have been withdrawn.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for diverticulosis, lumbosacral spine strain and degenerative disc disease, cervical spine degenerative disc disease, radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities, and endometriosis due to incomplete medical opinions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted due to the submission of new and material evidence. The cervical spine disorder claim is still pending, but the tingling and numbness in fingers and toes claim has been granted.

The Board has decided to remand several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, disability evaluations, and TDIU due to procedural issues and lack of VA examinations.

The Board has determined that additional examinations are needed for the Veteran's cervical spine and thoracolumbar spine disabilities due to limitations in range of motion testing. The issues related to left and right lower extremity radiculopathy are also remanded as they may be impacted by the results from these examinations.

The Board denied service connection for various disabilities including right shoulder, left shoulder, low back, cervical spine, right knee, left knee, right hand, and left hand disabilities as they were not found to be related to service or a service-connected condition.

The Veteran's neck disability is granted as service connected, and her bilateral foot disability is denied.