BVA Case 23-0642: Back

The Court remands these matters because the Board providedan inadequate statement of reasons or bases for denying service connection for the veteran's lumbar and cervical spine disabilities,and the Board failed to ensure that VA complied with the June 2022 remand order regarding hearing loss.

The physician opined that the veteran's neck and lumbar conditions were as likely as not related to his military service.

The physician stated that the veteran has had to modify and adapt to his pain and range of motion due to his degenerative joint disease of the knees,and the physician opined that the veteran's neck and lumbar conditions were as likely as not related to or secondary to his service[-]connected bilateral knee condition.

conditions were inadequate because they failed apply thecorrect standard for assessing aggravation, did not addresswhether his spine conditions were linked to his bilateral knee condition as a result of degeneration and altered gait,and only discussed his service-connected right knee disability without considering his service-connected left knee disability.

did not consider the [v]eteran's competent lay statements regarding excessive noise exposure while working on jet engines in service.

The report also provided a negative nexus opinion for secondary service connection,concluding that the veteran's back disability was at least as likely as not due to his fall at work on ice in 1982 and aggravated by his MVA in 1992, rather than being proximately due to or the result of his bilateral knee condition(s).

The report also provided a negative opinion for secondary service connection because the current medical literature does not support a nexus between altered gait [and]cervical degenerative dis[c]/joint disease and instead suggests [that]genetics alongwith environmental factors (primarily mechanical injuries imposedon normal aging changes).

As to the orthopedic claims, the Board noted that the March 2019 remand directive had incorrectly instructed the examiner regarding the definition of aggravation under 38 C.