Neck / cervical spine Board decisions

The Board dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's withdrawal of his appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, rib disability, and head disability. The claims for chronic foot infection, peripheral neuropathy, neck disability, and shoulder disability were reopened based on new evidence, but no service-connected disabilities are currently found.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current headaches and cervical spine disorder are related to his service, including a head injury in service. The VA rating assigned is 30% for the headache condition.

The Board has granted service connection for cervical musculature damage as secondary to the veteran's in-service shell fragment wound, but denied service connection for localized degenerative arthritis around C-1. The issue of an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for scars of the neck and back of head with retained foreign body is remanded due to a pending NOD.

The Board found that the veteran's cervical spine and right hand disabilities were incurred during his period of active service, while his right elbow disability was not. The right knee disability is considered a current condition unrelated to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disability, finding no link between his current condition and his military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative joint and disc disease of the cervical and lumbar spine were not incurred or aggravated by service, nor can they be presumed to have been incurred therein. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection due to new and material evidence. The Board found that his current cervical spine, lumbodorsal spine, and right knee disorders are related to injuries sustained in a helicopter crash during active duty.

The Board has dismissed the veteran's appeal for entitlement to service connection for hypertension due to a lack of timely receipt of a substantive appeal. The issues of compensable ratings for bursitis of the right hip, degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine, and residuals of a right spontaneous pneumothorax are remanded for further development.

The veteran's service connection claims for a back disorder (cervical and thoracic spines) are granted. Claims for bilateral knee, foot, and ankle disorders remain denied.

The Board has granted a 30 percent rating for the veteran's service-connected cervical spondylosis C6-7, status post cervical discectomy due to severe limitation of motion.

The Board granted a 60 percent rating for the veteran's DDD of the cervical spine with right radiculopathy due to right SAS, effective from September 23, 2002. The decision also noted that separate ratings were assigned for orthopedic and neurologic manifestations.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back and neck disabilities have been denied. The RO has assigned the maximum evaluations allowed under VA regulations.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran's cervical spine pathology is likely due to injuries sustained in service, and grants the claim for service connection.

The veteran's cervical strain is rated at 30 percent, lumbosacral strain at 40 percent, and chronic synovitis of the left knee at 10 percent. The veteran also meets criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board found that the veteran's back disorder was not incurred in or aggravated during service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's neck disability with 5th and 6th vertebrae disc protrusion and left arm numbness was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and thus denied service connection for this condition. The initial rating for his left knee disability remains unchanged.

The veteran's postoperative residuals of a cervical spine disability are shown to be more favorably evaluated under the former rating criteria, warranting a 60 percent rating since July 8, 1994.

The Board found that the veteran's current cervical spine disorder was incurred as a result of an in-service automobile accident and is related to his service-connected foot disability.

The veteran's hallux valgus, cervical strain, fibrocystic breast disease, and major depression are all denied increased evaluations. However, the veteran has established service connection for premenstrual syndrome.,Premenstrual syndrome was incurred in or aggravated by service.