Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2019

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine, right knee, and left shoulder disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for arthritis of the right knee and arthritis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine with right lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that these conditions began during active service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability. The cervical spine disability is denied as there is no evidence linking it to service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for additional development. The issues include back disability and left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board has dismissed the appeals seeking service connection for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, lumbosacral strain (also claimed as thoracic spine condition), left knee condition, right knee condition, left wrist condition, right wrist condition, right shoulder condition, and left ankle condition. The appeal is dismissed due to a lack of a valid substantive appeal.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder (posttraumatic stress disorder). The evidence did not support a finding that the current low back disorder was related to active service.

The Veteran's PTSD with major depressive disorder and anxious distress has been rated at 30 percent, but the Board has determined that a higher rating of 70 percent is warranted due to occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, TBI, neck disability, migraine and/or tension headaches, low back disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD). The reasons provided include a lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or any in-service injury. The Board has also noted that there is no continuous symptomatology for hypertension within one year of discharge.,The Veteran's claims for TBI, neck disability, migraine and/or tension headaches, low back disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD) are remanded as the Veteran has not been afforded a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for cervical DDD, lumbar DDD, and DM have been dismissed. The Board has granted a TDIU based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following any substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's low back strain is being remanded for an updated VA examination to assess the severity of his symptoms and whether they are attributable to his service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for gastroenteritis, right wrist strain, and residuals of lumbar strain (claimed low back condition) have been denied. The application to reopen the claim for hypertension has been granted.

The Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is currently rated at 40 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating available. The RO denied an increased rating for his shoulder disability.

The Veteran's recurrent lumbar strain is granted service connection, but his degenerative disc disease, spondylosis and herniated disc of the thoracolumbar spine are denied as not related to service.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's bilateral knee disability, back disability, and large diastasis rectus with no small neck. The claims are based on a finding that these conditions were at least as likely as not caused by an injury in service.

The Veteran's Parkinson’s disease was not incurred during active service and is not otherwise related to any in-service event, injury, or disease. The Board denied the claim for service connection.,The cause of death due to Parkinson’s disease was not caused by a service-connected disability. The Board also denied the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development and clarification of the Veteran's service connection and evaluation requests.,An effective date of February 27, 2001, is granted for a 40 percent rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease. Other issues remain pending.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a VA examination to assess the severity of his back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as he reported worsening symptoms since the last examination in May 2016.

The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as service connected. The issue of increased rating for degenerative disk disease of the lumbar spine is remanded.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as his representative withdrew all issues on appeal in September 2019.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability and a right eardrum disability, finding that the evidence did not support a link to service.