Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for PTSD and found new and material evidence. However, it determined that there is no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current cervical spine disorder to his period of active duty service. The claim for a higher rating for lumbosacral strain remains pending.

The Board has determined that the veteran's retinitis pigmentosa was incurred during military service and granted service connection for this condition.

The veteran's service-connected thoracic and lumbosacral spine disability is rated at 40 percent, but the claim for a higher evaluation remains denied. The total rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was also denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various undiagnosed illness-related conditions, including headaches, sleep apnea, skull calcifications, diarrhea, positive tuberculin test findings, and chronic bronchitis. The appeal is not about service connection at all.

The veteran's claim for an increase in his service-connected back disability received on April 29, 1997 is granted with an effective date of April 29, 2000.

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

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment, considering the impairment from the disorders and his educational and occupational background.

The veteran's lumbosacral strain and degenerative disc disease are currently rated at 60 percent, the maximum schedular evaluation. The Board finds that these conditions meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 5293.

The veteran's DDD, DJD and lumbosacral strain were evaluated at 20 percent from September 18, 1997 to December 29, 1998. From December 30, 1998, the evaluation was increased to 40 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a psychiatric disability, including PTSD, present in service or related to active duty. The veteran's sleep apnea is also not shown to be causally related to service. Service connection for disabilities of the joints other than the back, liver disability, skin disability, and stomach disability are denied as well. The veteran's claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disability was also denied.

The Board determined that the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and disc disease did not warrant a rating greater than 40 percent, as his disability was found to be productive of severe disablement but not pronounced intervertebral disc syndrome. The claim for total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability was also denied.

The VA has determined that the veteran's residuals of an injury to the lumbosacral spine are primarily manifested by moderate limitation of motion and pain on range of motion, warranting a 20 percent evaluation. The criteria for an evaluation in excess of 20 percent have not been met.

The Board has granted an increased rating to 60 percent for the veteran's service-connected residuals of a lumbosacral spine injury with traumatic arthritic changes, which is the maximum schedular rating available under Diagnostic Code 5293.

The Board denied an effective date prior to April 18, 1991 for the grant of a TDIU.,The Board also denied an effective date prior to October 18, 1993 for service connection for PTSD.

The Board has dismissed the appeal as to the issue of restoring a 20% disability rating for lumbosacral strain due to lack of timely filing of a substantive appeal. The veteran's representative submitted a statement in July 2001 that was construed as a notice of disagreement with the reduction, but it did not meet the legal requirements for perfecting an appeal.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the veteran's overuse injury of the lumbosacral spine and maintained the 10 percent rating for his right knee injury.

The VA determined that the appellant's degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine warrants a 40 percent evaluation, which is already at its maximum under the applicable rating criteria.

The veteran's back disability, characterized as lumbosacral strain, is currently rated at 40 percent effective October 6, 1999.

The Board has granted a 60% evaluation for lumbosacral strain with degenerative joint and disc disease, effective as of the date of this decision. The veteran's service-connected disability is also found to meet the criteria for a TDIU rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, is service-connected. However, there is no evidence of a current left kidney disability and the right kidney cyst was considered to be incurred in service.