The Veteran's claim for service connection for Bell's palsy was denied as there is no competent and credible evidence confirming the Veteran has Bell's palsy or residuals of this disorder at any time since the filing of his claim.,For his lumbosacral strain, the claim was also denied as he did not meet the criteria for an initial rating higher than 10 percent from July 2, 2004 to November 30, 2008, or a rating higher than 20 percent since December 1, 2008.
The deciding factor: There is no competent and credible evidence confirming the Veteran has Bell's palsy or residuals of this disorder at any time since the filing of his claim.,Since July 2, 2004 to November 30, 2008, his service-connected low back disability was manifested by pain, forward flexion limited to no worse than 65 degrees, discomfort and flare-ups with extended sitting or standing, and a combined range of thoracic and lumbar (thoracolumbar) spine motion greater than 120 degrees; there was no muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour; he did not have incapacitating episodes; and there was no evidence of ankylosis of his thoracolumbar spine, either favorable or unfavorable. Since December 1, 2008, this service-connected low back disability has been manifested by pain, forward flexion limited to no worse than 45 degrees after repetitive motion, and complaints of stiffness, weakness, fatigue, and lack of endurance; there has been no evidence of incapacitating episodes or ankylosis, favorable or unfavorable, or of objective evidence that function has been additionally limited by pain, fatigue, weakness, incoordination, or lack of endurance.
- Claimed conditions
- Bell's palsy, bilateral hand disorder (including arthritis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2013
- Citation
- 1312646
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1312646.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's right hip pain, muscle spasms, Bell's palsy, trouble breathing, and shaving profile/skin condition are all granted service connection. However, the claims for muscle spasms, Bell's palsy, trouble breathing, and shaving profile/skin condition were denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection of a cervical spine disability, as it is unclear whether his condition is due to his service-connected Bell's palsy and/or right eyelid scar. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for Bell's palsy and remanded the low back, radiculopathy, elbow, knee, and pes planus claims due to incomplete records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for Bell's palsy, right eye disability, lumbar spine disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability due to a failure to address if VA satisfied its duty to assist by obtaining private treatment records from Dr. O's office.
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