Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2018

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for a low back condition and hypertension due to insufficient evidence regarding his periods of active duty, ACDUTRA, and INACDUTRA. The examiner is requested to provide an addendum opinion on whether the Veteran's low back condition was aggravated by his 2010 period of active duty.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, left knee disorder (secondary to posttraumatic arthritis of the right knee), hypertension, cepahlgia, cervicothoracic spine disorder, thoracic spine disorder (low back condition), bilateral hip condition, and left sciatic radicular pain have been denied.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for these conditions are being remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has remanded several issues for further development, including the effective date of service connection for sleep apnea and evaluations for various disabilities. The Veteran's claims for PTSD and a skin disability are also pending.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a lumbar spine disability secondary to service-connected right knee and right ankle disabilities due to new and material evidence. The claim is remanded for further development, including an examination.

The Veteran's tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, PTSD, irritable bowel syndrome, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease/Barrett’s Syndrome, and back condition are granted as service-connected due to in-service combat noise exposure.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations for various service-connected disabilities, including lumbar osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease, myocardial infarction, hypertension, benign prostatic hypertrophy, and GERD. The Veteran is also being asked to provide authorization for VA to obtain his treatment records from private facilities and a VA examination.

The Veteran's hypertension and back disorder are granted service connection, while the TBI claim is denied. The claims for complications from transvaginal mesh implantation, left shoulder disorder, and right shoulder disorder are remanded for further development.

The claim for service connection of a low back disorder is granted, and the left knee increased rating claim is remanded.

The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for his service-connected thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD) was denied prior to March 30, 2017. Since then, the claim has been partially granted with an evaluation of 20 percent effective from March 30, 2017.

The Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc disease is rated at 10 percent and the claim for a higher rating is denied.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed for the issues of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, increased ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, and bilateral foot disability. The remaining issues have been remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for joint and muscle pain, lower back condition, left knee condition, and gastrointestinal symptoms are denied. The Board has remanded the PTSD and eligibility for treatment issues.

The Board denied service connection for Degenerative Joint Disease of the lumbar spine, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the condition and service.

The Board has remanded both issues for further development and consideration.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to insufficient evidence and need for further examination. The issues include service connection for various conditions, with a focus on lumbosacral strain.

The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for his thoracolumbar spine disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support an increased rating prior to February 12, 2014, and in excess of 40 percent thereafter.

The Veteran's claim for higher initial ratings for various conditions, including low back disability and left lower extremity radiculopathy, was denied. The Veteran received a 40 percent rating for his low back disability as of March 14, 2014.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbosacral spine disability, diagnosed as degenerative disc disease. The issue of service connection for chronic throat inflammation, to include dysphagia, is remanded.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain warrants a staged rating of 20 percent prior to August 3, 2016. The appeal for other conditions remains pending and is remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been remanded due to the need for additional evidence and examinations.