DEPARTMENTOFTHE NAVY
BOARD F O R C O R R E C T I O N OF NAVAL RECORDS
?
2 N A V Y A N N E X
WASHINGTON DC 20370-5100
w
JRE
Docket No. 01596-03
14 August 2003
This is in reference to your application for correction of your
naval record pursuant to the provisions of title 10 of the
United States Code, section 1552.
A three-member panel'of the Board for Correction of Naval
Records, sitting in executive session, considered your
application on 14 August 2003. Your allegations of error and
injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative
regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of this
Board. Documentary material considered by the Board consisted
of your application, together with all material submitted in
support thereof, your naval record and applicable statutes,
regulations and policies. It also considered the comments of
your counsel.
After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire
record, the Board found that the evidence submitted was
insufficient to establish the existence of probable material
error or injustice.
The Board found that you were hospitalized on 25 April 1971 for
back and left leg pain. On 13 May 1971, you were evaluated by a
medical board, which noted that you complained of "low back and
left leg pain". The medical board report indicates that you had
injured your back in 1965, and undergone a laminectomy, which
relieved the pain; however, you also reported that you had
experienced intermittent episodes of back and left leg pain
thereafter. The medical board determined that your condition
existed prior to your enlistment, and was not aggravated by your
service, and recommended that you be discharged without
disability benefits. On 13 May 1971, you declined to submit a
statement in rebuttal to the medical board report, and requested
that you be discharged as soon as possible without disability
retirement or severance pay. You were discharged on 7 June
1971, in dccordance with your request and the approved findings
and recommendation of the medical board.
On 14 October 1971, the Veterans Administration (VA) denied your
request for service connection for low back pain, noting that
your symptoms, which were largely limited to your left leg and
great toe, were minimal, and not indicative of service
aggravation of a preexisting condition. The rating decision
also indicates that you were employed by an electric and
plumbing supply company, and that you had no back complaints due
to your work and no lost time. You were noted to have a
plodding gait, but that was attributed to your overweight
condition. You apparently injured your back in 1984, which
resulted in your being hospitalized for about thirteen days, and
off work for four months. You were hospitalized again on 28
January 1986, because of back pain that began the day before
after you had jumped from a truck. You were noted to have right
lumbar pain with straight leg raising, as well as decreased
sensation in the left leg. X-ray examination revealed narrowing
of the L4-5 disk space, with osteophyte formation, and mild
osteophytic changes qt the L1 level as well. You were released
from the hospital on 2 February 1986. On 23 June 1993, you
complained of low back pain, and were noted to have pain on
straight leg raising bilaterally at 30 degrees, with much more
pain on the left. X-ray examination disclosed the existence of
degenerative changes at the L4-5 level only. On 1 March 2002,
the VA awarded you service connection and a 60% rating for
degenerative disk disease at the L1-2 level, based on the
determination that your condition in 2002 was "etiologically
related" to the back condition you complained of while on active
duty in 1971. That finding was based, in part, on the testimony
of your wife that you had not injured your back since she had
met you in 1978, and your statement that you had had pain
radiating to your right leg since 1971, after falling down.
The Board was not persuaded that the condition the VA rated in
2002 was in any way related to the back condition you complained
of in 1971. Although there are brief references to right leg
pain in your service records, the focus of your complaints at
that time, and for years thereafter, was your left leg. It also
noted that your wife's testimony concerning your medical history
is belied by evidence in your VA file, which indicates you
injured you back on several occasions after your discharge, and
that you were hospitalized twice because of back injuries. In
that you were hospitalized twice because of back injuries. In
addition, the Board noted that even if the back pain you
experienced in 1971 had been incurred while you were entitled to
basic pay, you would not have been elicble for disability
retirement, which requires a minimum rating of 30%. Your
condition was mild in 1971, and certainly not productive of
impairment in excess of 10%.
In view of the foregoing, your application has been denied. The
names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished
upon request.
It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such
that favorable action cannot be taken. You are entitled to have
the Board reconsider its decision upon submission of new and
material evidence or other matter not previously considered by
the Board. In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that
a presumption of regularity attaches to all official records.
Consequently, when applying for a correction of an official
naval record, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate the
existence of probable material error or injustice.
Sincerely,
AF | PDBR | CY2012 | PD2012 01790
[The CI] suffers from back pain. Additionally, under the current general rating formula for diseases and injuries of the spine, which uses ROM measurements for rating, the CI’s back pain would also be rated at 10% based on the ROM measurements documented in the NARSUM. Since no evidence of functional impairment exists in this case, the Board would not have supported a recommendation for additional rating based on peripheral nerve impairment (as opposed to the PEB’s adjudication).
AF | PDBR | CY2009 | PD2009-00525
CI CONTENTION : The CI states: ‘VA rated disability at 40% Service connection on May 28, 1997 and considered me unemployable on 4-22-04 for the back condition military discharged me with at 10%. Follow-up for back pain. The frequency and severity of the CI’s back pain and radicular pain increased significantly during his time on TDRL and this was consistent with the increasing severity of degenerative disc disease and herniated discs with impingement on the right S1 nerve root documented...
AF | PDBR | CY2012 | PD2012 01977
SCOPEOFREVIEW : TheBoard’sscopeofreviewisdefinedinDoDI6040.44, Enclosure3, paragraph5.e.(2). RATINGCOMPARISON : ServiceIPEB– Dated20060123 VA- (3Mos.Pre-Separation) Condition Code Rating Condition Code Rating Exam Chronic LBP Secondary toDDDw/L4-5,L5-S1DiscBulge& Facet Arthropathy, w/oNeurologic Deficit, ROM Limited by Pain, Positive 5299-5242 10% SUBJECT: Department of Defense Physical Disability Board of Review Recommendation for AR20130019923 (PD201201977)I have reviewed the enclosed...
AF | PDBR | CY2012 | PD2012 01497
The MEB also forwarded right shoulder pain, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hypercholesterolemia, identified in the rating chart below, as not disqualifying.The Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) adjudicated the chronic LBP conditionas unfitting, rated 10% with application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD).The remaining conditions were determined to meet retention standards and therefore to be not unfittingand not ratable.The CI made no...
AF | PDBR | CY2012 | PD2012 00524
The MEB also forwarded right shoulder pain, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hypercholesterolemia, identified in the rating chart below, as not disqualifying.The Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) adjudicated the chronic LBP conditionas unfitting, rated 10% with application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD).The remaining conditions were determined to meet retention standards and therefore to be not unfittingand not ratable.The CI made no...
AF | PDBR | CY2009 | PD2009-00054
The medical basis for the separation was chronic low back pain (LBP) and multiple painful joints (Bilateral degenerative joint disease [DJD] of hips and knees as well as the left ankle) without any history of trauma. NARSUM (date 20020917): CHIEF COMPLAINT: This is a 26-year-old male with two-year history of bilateral shoulder pain, back pain, bilateral hip pain, bilateral knee pain left greater than right, and left ankle pain. The MEB diagnosis #1 (Medically Unacceptable) described...
AF | PDBR | CY2009 | PD2009-00553
The case was referred to the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB), he was determined unfit for continued Naval service, and separated at 20% disability using the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Ratings Disabilities (VASRD) and applicable Navy/Marine Corps and Department of Defense regulations in effect at that time. The most complete examination available for review is the Physical Medicine Consult from 20021009 which clearly stated the pain was intermittent. The Board also considered the...
AF | PDBR | CY2014 | PD-2014-01976
The Board’s assessment of the PEB rating determinations is confined to review of medical records and all available evidence for application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) standards to the unfitting medical condition at the time of separation. A permanent L3 physical profile dated 11 June 2007 was issued for the “Healed R foot stress fracture.” He “had stress changes of the R foot 3 rd & 4 th Metatarsals noted on 7March 2007. BOARD FINDINGS : IAW DoDI...
AF | PDBR | CY2011 | PD2011-00481
The CI was then medically separated with a 20% disability rating. The VA stated “in your case, review of the evidence we now have shows the severity of your low back condition and related mental disorder were of such a degree that rendered you totally disabled and would have prevented enlistment to military service at the time you re-entered active duty service.” The VA also stated, “it is under omission of the facts concerning your prior treatrnent, your in-service examiners evaluated your...
AF | PDBR | CY2012 | PD-2012-00761
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW NAME: XXXXXXXXXXXX BRANCH OF SERVICE: ARMY CASE NUMBER: PD1200761 SEPARATION DATE: 20020116 BOARD DATE: 20121218 SUMMARY OF CASE: Data extracted from the available evidence of record reflects that this covered individual (CI) was a National Guard Soldier, SGT/E‐5 (45E, assigned to a Hull Systems Mechanic slot, 63E), medically separated for chronic low back pain (LBP) accompanied by neck pain with degenerative disc disease (DDD) at...