Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2018

The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected pleurisy, right chest, secondary to pulmonary embolus and denied service connection for a low back disability, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his active service or secondary to his service-connected pleurisy.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for low back disability, left knee disability, hearing loss, and sleep problems due to lack of a medical nexus between these conditions and service.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection of left and right hip disorders, but has remanded the cases to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for a low back disorder has been reopened and is granted. The issue of whether new and material evidence has been introduced to reopen the claim remains pending.

The Board denied service connection for low back, left hip, right hip, right knee, left leg, right leg, and right foot disorders as the evidence did not establish a link between these conditions and active service.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the date of entitlement and his employment history during the relevant period.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral foot disability, low back disability, and right knee disability. The TDIU claim is also being remanded due to its inextricably intertwined nature with the other issues.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating and TDIU due to the need for additional VA examinations and the inextricability of these issues.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar myositis was denied. The issues of service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy and TDIU were remanded due to conflicting medical evidence.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for low back, left knee, right knee, right ankle, and bilateral hearing loss disabilities due to incomplete examination reports and conflicting findings.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability and bilateral foot disability has been reopened due to the submission of new evidence. The claims are now pending before the Board.,The VA is required to obtain additional medical records, including treatment from the Social Security Administration and VA health care facilities.

The Veteran's petition to reopen the claim of service connection for a low back disorder was granted. The initial disability rating for ischemic heart disease remains at 30 percent, but a separate 10 percent rating is granted for atrial fibrillation associated with it.,Service connection for ischemic heart disease is granted effective prior to March 25, 2014.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and for obtaining any outstanding VA treatment records.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unemployable due to his inability to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's low back disability has been granted a 20% rating, but the Board finds that there is not enough evidence to determine if he meets the criteria for a higher rating. The case is remanded for further examination and evaluation.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of sciatica, left foot drop/left-sided weakness, and lumbar spine disability has been reopened. Secondary service connection is granted for these conditions due to the service-connected cervical spine disabilities.

The Veteran's back disability is currently rated at 20 percent for degenerative disc disease and intervertebral disc syndrome. The Board found that the evidence does not support a higher rating as there was no evidence of forward flexion limited to 30 degrees or less, nor were there any incapacitating episodes of IVDS during the appeal period.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of a back disability is denied.,Effective dates are granted for the grant of service connection for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, both from November 30, 2010.,The Veteran’s TDIU claim is remanded due to lack of schedular rating requirements.

The Veteran's claims for right foot, left shoulder, right shoulder, cervical spine, low back, right knee, and left knee disorders have all been denied as they are not service-connected.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for lumbar spine disability due to new and material evidence. However, the claim is still pending as it was remanded for further development.