Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2014

The Veteran's bilateral pes planus was aggravated by service, and he is granted service connection for this condition. The Board also found that the Veteran's TDIU claim from April 2009 to June 6, 2010, was warranted due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from obtaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board has granted service connection for a breathing disability (asthma) and mechanical low back pain, but denied service connection for hearing loss disability and left shoulder disability due to lack of evidence meeting VA criteria for hearing loss disability and insufficient objective findings for the claimed left shoulder disability.

The Veteran's neck injury during service resulted in current cervical spondylosis with degenerative disc disease, which is now service-connected.,Agent Orange exposure during service led to a current diagnosis of lichen simplex chronicus, for which the Veteran is also service-connected.,Service connection has been granted for erectile dysfunction, presumed related to his service-connected postoperative left inguinal hernia.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and ensuring all pertinent medical treatment records are added to the claims file.

The Board found that the Veteran's back disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service, may not be presumed related to service, nor is it proximately due to or the result of his service-connected history of plantar wart, left foot.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for herniated nucleus pulposus, claimed as low back pain. The evidence received since the April 2004 rating decision is new and material, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating her claim. Therefore, the claim is granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a cold weather injury to the left foot, right foot, and low back disorder. The denial was on the merits.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain a new VA examination for his lumbar spine disability and to determine if he qualifies for TDIU based on service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's GSW residuals of the right hip and degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine with associated bilateral radiculopathy of the lower extremities are rated at 50 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and readjudicating the issues of higher initial disability ratings for his service-connected back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran's service-connected cervical and lumbar spine disabilities have been granted, but the ratings for these conditions remain at 20 percent.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for lumbosacral strain, dorsal osteoarthritis, and maxillary sinusitis were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable VA rating schedule.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to allow for a Travel Board hearing before a third Veterans Law Judge at the RO.

The Board has granted service connection for a back disability but denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The decision is mixed as it grants one claim and denies another.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right foot, back, right hip, and right knee disorders are related to his military service. The claims for service connection have been granted.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for DJD of the lumbosacral spine and for bilateral hearing loss were denied by the RO. The appeal is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen service connection for a low back disorder. The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, dizziness and blackouts, and right wrist disorder was also denied.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD with an effective date of August 3, 2005, the date the Veteran initially filed his claim. The issues of service connection for low back and cervical spine disabilities, as well as whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss are addressed in the REMAND portion of this decision.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current diagnosis of degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine is at least as likely as not the result of his military service, and thus grants service connection for a back disorder.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability is not service-connected, but his residuals of fungal infection of the feet are service-connected.