Neck / cervical spine Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA examination and to obtain Worker's Compensation records related to a lumbar spine injury in 2002. The Veteran is seeking service connection for his thoracolumbar spine disorder.

The Board has remanded the claims for cervical spine disability, fibromyalgia, and colon surgery due to new evidence received since the last denial. The issues are being reviewed again as they may be related to service.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and review due to incomplete records from Social Security Administration (SSA).

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for psychiatric disorders, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, right leg disability, and pulmonary embolism due to inconsistencies in reported stressors and conflicting medical opinions. Additional development is needed to verify a specific suicide stressor and obtain new nexus opinions.

The Veteran's right and left knee strains, gastroesophageal disease (GERD) with gastric ulcer, left tricep tendonitis, and cervical strain have all been rated as 10 percent disabling. The Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted for any of these conditions.,A separate rating was denied for each condition due to the Veteran's flexion and extension limitations not meeting the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for carpal tunnel syndrome of the right hand and intervertebral disc syndrome with cervical spine degenerative disc disease (claimed as chronic neck pain) due to a lack of adequate medical opinions regarding whether these conditions were aggravated by service.

The Veteran was granted a TDIU from July 14, 2021, onward. The Board also referred the issue of entitlement to a TDIU on an extraschedular basis for prior to July 14, 2021, to the Director of Compensation Service.

The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disability, finding that the Veteran's current condition did not have its onset in service and was not otherwise causally related to disease or injury in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and neck disability are remanded due to new evidence received since the last denial of his petition to reopen. The claims will be reviewed again with additional medical opinions.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination due to insufficient evidence on the etiology of the claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability is granted as service-connected due to an in-service injury.,Service connection for sleep apnea and a bilateral shoulder disability are remanded.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for hearing loss, and initial ratings higher than 20 percent for cervical spine disorder, left shoulder disorder, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, and insomnia have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating of 50 percent, but no higher, for his service-connected insomnia has been granted.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability is service-connected as it resulted from an in-service injury during basic training.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD) and an effective date prior to May 12, 2017. The Veteran's cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, and right upper extremity radiculopathy are also remanded for further development.

The Board dismissed all 34 issues on appeal due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his claims, except for the service connection for irritable bowel syndrome which was not appealed.

The Board denied service connection for both a lumbar spine disorder and a cervical spine disorder, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including cervical and thoracolumbar spine conditions with associated radiculopathies, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathies, tinnitus, right elbow lateral epicondylitis, right Achilles tendonitis, left and right lower extremity varicose veins, right thumb arthritis, right ear hearing loss, hemangioma of the left scalp, left thigh meralgia paresthetica, right foot metatarsophalangeal arthritis, and right foot scar, are found to be sufficiently severe to render him unable to maintain any form of substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational background. As such, a TDIU is granted.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for thoracolumbar and cervical spine disabilities, as well as the issue of nonservice-connected pension benefits prior to October 1, 2017, on the basis of countable income.

The Veteran's GERD and cervical spine degenerative arthritis were found to not meet the criteria for higher ratings prior to August 19, 2022. The thoracolumbar strain was also found not to meet the criteria for a higher rating as of that date.,Further examination is needed to determine if there are any additional symptoms or functional limitations that warrant higher ratings.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the issues of increased evaluations for lumbosacral strain and cervical strain, as well as entitlement to a TDIU. The Veteran will be scheduled for VA examinations to evaluate his current level of severity for these disabilities.