Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2018

All service connection claims have been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of a back condition has been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development to obtain missing service treatment records and determine if he was exposed to herbicide agents or radiation during his National Guard service in Korea. The issues of service connection have been remanded as well.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his lumbar spine disability is remanded due to the need for a VA examination that complies with Correia v. McDonald (2016) and Sharp v. Shulkin (2017).

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including spurring of the cervical and lumbar spine, bilateral knee condition with total replacements, left shoulder condition, elbow residuals, and bilateral foot condition. The decision was based on a lack of evidence establishing a relationship between these conditions and active military service.,The Board also denied the Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for bilateral hearing loss and depression, and his claim for Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU).

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, including those for left knee disability, blindness in both eyes, psychiatric disabilities, decreased bone density, low back disability, and foot disability. The AOJ is instructed to obtain updated VA treatment records, Social Security Administration (SSA) decision and award letters, pay stubs from Puerto Rico Army National Guard service, verify the exact dates of each period of Active Duty for Training (ACDUTRA) and Inactive Duty Training (INACDUTRA), and schedule a VA examination to determine the nature, initial onset dates, etiologies, and relationships between the Veteran's disabilities and his military service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to insufficient consideration of his in-service injury and continuity of symptoms. The Board requires an addendum opinion regarding the relationship between his service-connected left knee disability and his low back disability.

The Veteran's service connection claim for a lumbar spine disorder was denied. The Veteran received an initial disability rating of 50 percent for her migraine headaches from May 19, 2008 to November 15, 2016 and a 10 percent rating for chronic maxillary sinusitis from May 19, 2008 to July 5, 2012. The claim for TDIU was remanded.

The Veteran's claim for a clothing allowance due to his service-connected low back disability was denied because the analgesic cream prescribed for his pain and the lumbosacral orthosis he wears do not meet the criteria for a clothing allowance.

The Veteran's claim to establish service connection for a low back disability is reopened, and the appeal is granted. Other claims are remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for right shoulder tendonitis and cervical spine degenerative disc disease and spondylosis, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to service.

The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spine disability, to include degenerative disc disease. The issue of entitlement to a disability rating greater than 20 percent for a lumbar spine disability is remanded for further development.

The Board has granted an earlier effective date of July 29, 2008 for the grant of a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) based on the Veteran's cervical and lumbar disabilities.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's lumbar degenerative disc disease, and a new examination is required.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and left knee disability. The decision also denied an increased rating for tinnitus.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder with underlying depression is rated at 70 percent, but no higher, effective September 13, 2005.,The Veteran is granted a TDIU due to service-connected anxiety disorder with underlying depression.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current condition is at least as likely as not related to his active military service. Service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss, hammer toe, low back disability, foot and leg disabilities, and coronary artery disease.

The Veteran's depression is granted as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability. Service connection for a low back disability and peripheral neuropathy involving the left lower extremity are denied.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar spine, left knee, and left ankle disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran will need new examinations to assess the current severity of these conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for migraine headaches. The right knee, acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and depression), back disability, and neck disability claims are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.