Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2016

The Board has dismissed the appeals for increased ratings and TDIU as the appellant withdrew his appeal prior to a decision.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain updated medical records and prepare an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's low back disorder. The Veteran seeks service connection for his current condition, which he attributes to a parachute jump injury in service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for scheduling a videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge. The case will be returned to the Board after the hearing.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and SSA records. The Veteran needs a VA examination to assess the severity of his right knee disorder and whether he requires regular aid and attendance or is housebound due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (including his lumbar spine disorder) precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to March 26, 2015.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his hypertension, low back disability, and PTSD.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated treatment records and providing addendum opinions on the etiology of his neck disorder and the aggravation of his lower back disability.

The Veteran's joint pain in the low back, mid-back, bilateral knees and sensory changes is attributed to fibromyalgia due to medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness. The Board has granted service connection for these symptoms.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development to assess the current severity of her thoracolumbar spine disability and femoral nerve impairment, including any associated bowel impairment. The case will be reconsidered after this additional development.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and likely etiology of his claimed back condition and peripheral neuropathy. The claims will be re-adjudicated after this development.

The Board found that the Veteran's current lumbar spine mild degenerative disk disease at L4-L5 is not related to his service, and denied his claim.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected low back disability is being remanded due to the need for a new examination and consideration of updated VA treatment records.

The Board found that the Veteran's low back condition is not related to his military service and denied his claim for service connection. The issue of chronic bronchitis as secondary to service-connected allergic rhinitis was also addressed, but no decision was made due to a lack of evidence on this specific issue.

The Board found that the Veteran's low back and cervical spine disorders are not related to his service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, cervical spine disorder, low back disorder, and ischemic heart disease were denied. The claim for service connection for PTSD was not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence. Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not found to be related to service or presumptively presumed under VA regulations.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to inadequate medical opinions in response to the August 2014 remand instructions.

The Board has remanded the case for further development to clarify whether the Veteran's migraine headaches are caused or made worse by his service-connected lumbosacral strain with disc bulge.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that the Veteran's pre-existing condition was aggravated by active service. The issues of bilateral hip replacements and knee disabilities are still pending.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder is found to be at least as likely as not caused by service and/or a service-connected disability. The low back strain has been rated at the maximum allowable under VA guidelines.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disorder was granted, and the effective date for this grant is set at August 2, 2013. The claim for an earlier effective date for hypertension was also granted, with the effective date being May 14, 2008.