Neck / cervical spine Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA examinations and etiological opinions. The Veteran's claims of service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability, right hand disability (to include as secondary to neck disability), and neck disability are being reviewed.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's cervical spine disorder and a need for further development.

The Veteran's appeal for the issue of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for hearing loss in the right ear was withdrawn prior to the Board's decision. The remaining issues are remanded for further development.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for a neck disability and granted it. The Veteran's fibromyalgia was also granted as service connected on a presumptive basis due to her Persian Gulf service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar and cervical spine disorders, as well as a higher rating for her bilateral pes planus with plantar fasciitis, are being remanded due to the need for additional development including obtaining medical records and scheduling VA examinations.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current cervical or lumbar spine disability that is related to service. The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's current neck and back conditions are not caused by or a result of service.

The Veteran's service-connected cervical and lumbar spine disabilities are each rated at 20 percent, but the Board finds that these ratings do not meet or more nearly approximate the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board finds that he meets the criteria for TDIU.

The Veteran's cervical spine disorder and right upper extremity radiculopathy were not incurred in or aggravated by service, may not be presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by service, and are not proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by any service-connected disability.

The Board found that the Veteran's left foot, right elbow, and cervical spine disabilities did not have their onset during service or are otherwise related to service. The preponderance of evidence is against these claims.

The Veteran's original claims for service connection were not received by VA prior to March 1, 2010. The effective date for the grants of service connection for PTSD; cervical spondylosis with neck myelopathy/radiculopathy; left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy/radiculopathy; scar, residuals, shrapnel fragment wound, neck; linear scar inferior to the left patella; and curvilinear left medial knee scar disabilities is denied.,The effective date for the grant of service connection for right foot drop is granted as March 1, 2010. The appeal period had not ended when the information concerning right foot drop compensation was specifically raised by the Veteran.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA and private medical records, securing SSA disability benefits records, and scheduling a VA examination to assess the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine and neck disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by service, and arthritis was not shown within one year of separation. The claims are therefore denied.

The Veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine is currently rated at 40 percent, but his claim for a higher rating has been denied.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, hemorrhoids, arthritis of the hands and cervical spine and side-effects of medicine (formerly claimed as osteopathic conditions and side-effects of medicine), diverticulitis, herniated esophagus, bilateral cataracts, presbyopia, and thin spots in the retina, hepatitis, umbilical and groin hernias, impotence, allergies, neurological bladder disease, edema of the lower extremities, residuals of a head injury, sexually transmitted disease, residuals of a throat trauma, hypothyroidism, memory loss, benign prostatic hypertrophy. The Veteran's currently diagnosed bipolar disorder and anxiety disorder not otherwise specified are etiologically related to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spine disorder, bilateral wrist disorder (claimed as carpal tunnel syndrome), and bilateral foot disorder (other than pes cavus).

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, and for degenerative changes of the cervical spine. The evidence received since September 2007 does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating these claims.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine the nature and etiology of her neck disability, fibromyalgia, and service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for TDIU and basic eligibility for assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.

The Board has found that the Veteran's cervical spine disability is not related to his active military service. The issue of entitlement to service connection for dizziness remains pending and requires further development.