Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2017

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and arranging for an orthopedic examination to determine if the Veteran's current back conditions are related to his service.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection. This includes obtaining a new VA examination and requesting an addendum opinion from a VA examiner.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disorder is not related to his military service and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence is against the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability, as there is no clinical evidence of treatment in service and the 2015 VA examination report is negative medical evidence weighing against the claim.

The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder and is remanding the issue of service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, to include as secondary to a low back disorder.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including new VA examinations and a vocational evaluation to assess the impact of her service-connected disabilities on her employability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability was aggravated by injuries incurred during periods of active duty for training and inactive duty for training, thus granting service connection.

The Veteran's radiculopathy of the upper radicular group of the left upper extremity has been granted a noncompensable rating effective August 26, 2010. The Veteran is not entitled to an increased rating for this condition.,The Veteran's radiculopathy of the superficial peroneal nerve of the left upper extremity was granted a noncompensable rating effective August 26, 2010.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and higher initial ratings have been denied. The Board found no current medical diagnosis of a groin pull or evidence linking the rib fracture to service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and a retrospective opinion on the Veteran's employability prior to February 11, 2010.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims of entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease and entitlement to TDIU prior to the Board's decision.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including VA examinations and further medical opinions.

The Board found no evidence of a low back disorder in service and concluded that the Veteran's current low back condition is not related to his active duty service. For hearing loss, the VA examiner could not conduct the required puretone testing due to cerumen obstruction.

The Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative joint disease is not service connected as it was not shown to be caused or aggravated by his service-connected hypothyroidism.,His service-connected hypothyroidism has not resulted in any additional disability that would warrant a higher rating.

The Board has determined that service connection is not warranted for a groin disability or low back disability. The Veteran's current disabilities were not present during his honorable service and there is no medical evidence linking the conditions to service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability is being remanded due to additional development requested by the appellant's representative.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining service records and conducting a VA examination. The issues of entitlement to service connection for various joint disorders are now pending before the Board.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed low back, hypertension, left ear, and respiratory disabilities are not service-connected as they do not meet the criteria for direct service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unemployable as of October 29, 2005, and the Board finds that an effective date of this date is warranted for his TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for further development, including obtaining additional records and affording the Veteran a VA examination.