Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2019

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for spondylolisthesis, lumbar spine spondylolisthesis and DJD (L4-5, L5-S1), radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity have been denied. The appeals are based on direct service connection.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate rationale in previous VA examinations and a need for additional development.

The Board denied service connection for low back and right knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a link to service or service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on multiple conditions have been dismissed. The Board did not address the merits of these claims, but rather found that the Veteran withdrew his appeal as to all issues related to a rash, tonsillitis, dysuria, coagulase, dyspnea, gastroenteritis, myalgia, residuals of a right elbow fracture, costochondritis, and hearing loss. The appeals for service connection on tinnitus, back disability, headache disability, residuals of a head injury, vertigo, and eye disability are remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected right foot great toe, right wrist, right knee, and lower back disabilities are being remanded for additional evaluations to determine their current severity.

The Veteran's left foot condition, neck condition, and low back condition are remanded for further examination to determine their etiology.

The Board denied the claim for an initial compensable rating for lumbar strain, finding that there was no evidence of arthritis in the record at the time of the October 1994 rating decision. The Veteran's argument based on painful degenerative changes did not meet the criteria for CUE.

The Veteran withdrew his claims for higher evaluations of his service-connected low back condition and right radiculopathy, leading to their dismissal.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for degenerative disk and joint disease of the lumbosacral spine and headaches due to inadequate reasons and bases, including failure to address whether VA should obtain additional medical evidence or opinions.

The Veteran's service connection claims for various circulatory disorders and a back disorder have been denied as there is no current evidence of such conditions, and the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence does not support any relationship to service.

The Veteran's claim for a 10 percent rating for DDD lumbar spine, L5-S1 is granted. The claim for a compensable evaluation for left varicocele remains pending and will be remanded. The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches is also remanded.

The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy is granted a 20% rating, effective from April 17, 2017. The Veteran's back disability and neck disability are denied.

The Board denied service connection for headache syndrome and L5-S1 degenerative disc disease (lumbar spine DDD) as the evidence did not show a link between these conditions and active duty service.,There was no evidence of chronicity or continuity of symptoms after service, and the Veteran's current diagnoses were found to be unrelated to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient reasoning in a previous decision regarding service connection for a low back disability. The Veteran's lay statements and medical opinion indicate a link between his current condition and service, but further examination is needed.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability, hearing loss, right ankle sprain, HSV II, and tinnitus was granted. The rating assigned for the right ankle sprain is 10 percent, while the ratings for hearing loss, HSV II, and tinnitus are denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for his thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease due to inadequate VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his right knee and lumbar spine disabilities have been denied. The Board found that the current ratings adequately reflect the symptoms reported by the Veteran.

The Board has granted an earlier effective date of October 13, 2011 for the grant of service connection for bilateral shoulder, back, bilateral knee, tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disabilities.

The Veteran's back condition, diabetes mellitus type II, bilateral cataracts, peripheral vascular disease (left and right lower extremities), coronary artery disease post-CABG, left below-the-knee amputation, status post right 4th and 5th toe amputations with foot ulcers, recurring infections, psychiatric disorder, bleeding ulcers, left shoulder condition, and right shoulder condition are all found to be related to service. The Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II is denied as there is no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during active duty.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and right leg sciatica, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and his military service.