Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2017

The Board found that the Veteran's cervical spine disability was not incurred or aggravated by service and denied both his claim for service connection and his TDIU claim.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including rescheduling a VA examination and obtaining a retrospective medical opinion.

The Board found that the Veteran's low back disability did not warrant a rating in excess of 20 percent, as his range of motion was within normal limits and he did not have ankylosis or IVDS. The TDIU claim was also denied.

The Board has granted service connection for a low back disability secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee and left hip disabilities. The claim for an extraschedular rating for the service-connected left hip strain is also granted.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for her service-connected low back muscle strain is being remanded due to the need for a more contemporaneous VA examination.

The Veteran's combined evaluation of service-connected disabilities is 90 percent, meeting the threshold requirement for TDIU.,His gastritis is rated at 10 percent and does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing new VA medical opinions regarding the Veteran's knee and back disabilities as well as his depression.

The Veteran has withdrawn all issues on appeal, including those seeking service connection for various conditions and disabilities. The Board does not have jurisdiction to further consider these matters.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral chronic ingrown toenails and lumbar spine disorder are related to military service, granting service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's initial compensable disability rating for chronic low back pain with scoliosis and findings of degenerative disc disease is granted at a 10 percent evaluation.

The Veteran withdrew his claims of entitlement to service connection for numbness and tingling of the bilateral lower and upper extremities, balance problems, a skin condition, residuals of a left great toe injury, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, and Parkinson's disease; as well as an initial increased evaluation for post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for his service-connected low back disability, including neurological symptoms of the lower extremities, is being remanded due to incomplete development and need for another VA examination with electrodiagnostic testing.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for a TDIU, but found that an effective date prior to January 18, 2012 is not warranted as his employment at Fred Meyer was not considered marginal.

The Board has remanded the case due to a hearing conducted by two different Veterans Law Judges, and the Veteran is entitled to have a third judge participate in the decision. The case will be returned for scheduling a video conference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.

The Veteran's service connection claim for a lumbar spine disability is granted as he was diagnosed with arthritis, experienced an injury during his active duty service, and has shown continuity of symptomatology.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of October 2, 1995 for a TDIU and assigned a disability rating of 60 percent for the Veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine as of April 13, 2007.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and CAD, as well as his claim for a total rating based on individual disabilities prior to August 30, 2011. The decision is based on direct service connection without any presumption or secondary theory.

The Board dismissed the motion for revision of a November 19, 2015 decision based on clear and unmistakable error (CUE) because there was no final denial of benefits to review.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and providing a new VA examination to determine if any current left shoulder condition is related to service. The Veteran's lumbosacral condition claim remains on appeal.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected low back strain was denied. The Board found that the current schedular criteria adequately rated his disability, and no separate ratings were warranted for associated radiculopathy or TDIU due to the disability.