Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2015

The Board has ordered remand for additional development, including scheduling a hearing by live videoconference. The case will be returned to the Board after this is done.

The Board has remanded the case due to outstanding private treatment records and a need to review Dr. S.'s evaluation form.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability is related to service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and consideration of his claims, including a VA examination to determine the nature and severity of his service-connected enteritis (Crohn's disease) with granulomatous hepatomegaly with anemia, as well as whether his back disorder is secondary to his Crohn's disease. The case will also be reviewed for extraschedular consideration.

The Board is remanding the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and providing the Veteran with an opportunity to respond. The issues of whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim of service connection for a low back disability and entitlement to a TDIU are inextricably intertwined.

The Board denied service connection for a back disability, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated by service and is not related to the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability.

The Board has determined that the evidence supports reopening and granting service connection for low back disability, left leg disability, and right leg disability as secondary to service-connected bilateral pes planus. The effective date of this decision is August 3, 2001.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including headaches, sinus or allergic disorder, thyroid disorder, back disorder, upper-gastrointestinal (GI) disorder, and dermatologic disorder of the feet. The decision did not find a nexus between these conditions and service.

The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 10 percent prior to June 16, 2014 and at 20 percent thereafter. He also received a separate 10 percent rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's DJD and DDD of the thoracolumbar spine are related to his in-service parachute jumps, and thus grants service connection for this disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional examinations and development due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between his current disabilities and service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for refractive error, claimed as a vision disorder, is denied. The Board finds that there is no current evidence of an acquired eye disorder and the law prohibits service connection for refractory errors of the eyes unless such defect was subjected to a superimposed disease or injury.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and addressing the etiology of his current condition.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's low back disability and residuals of a right orchiectomy.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA and OPM records, and scheduling a VA examination for the right shoulder disorder.

The Veteran does not have a back disability, to include a left lower extremity nerve disability, a neck disability, a knee disability, a shoulder disability, an ankle disability, or a hip disability, that is related to his service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's appeal requires additional development and remand for several issues, including scheduling a videoconference hearing for tinnitus, obtaining clarification on the etiology of his right shoulder and lumbar spine disorders, and considering whether he is entitled to TDIU.

The Veteran's low back strain has been rated at 20 percent since the initial grant of service connection, reflecting significant functional impairment but not ankylosis or intervertebral disc syndrome.

The Board has dismissed the appeal of the issue of entitlement to service connection for degenerative disc disease C5-6 due to withdrawal by the Veteran. The claim of bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability in either ear that meets VA's definition of hearing loss.

The Veteran's claim for restoration of the 40 percent rating assigned his low back disability from December 22, 2011 is denied as there was improvement in his service-connected condition.,The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for migraine headaches disorder is denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for a 50% rating.