Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2019

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including hypertension and hypertensive heart disease with syncope. The claims are being remanded for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a back condition, bilateral knee condition, and lower bilateral nerve damage due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, as well as lumbosacral strain, status post T11 compression fracture with fusion of T10-T11, is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected lumbosacral strain is being remanded due to the need for a new examination to assess the current severity of his condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's appeal requires additional development due to incomplete records and inadequate opinions. The AOJ is instructed to obtain relevant medical records, complete the Veteran’s VA Vocational Rehabilitation file, identify any workman’s compensation claim filed by the Veteran, and gather information about who placed him in a wheelchair and transported him to the Emergency Room.

The appeal of the issues of service connection for a right foot disability, flat feet and an increased rating for residuals, fracture, 5th metatarsal shaft, right foot is dismissed. From September 21, 2011, entitlement to a 40 percent rating for lumbosacral strain is granted.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, as well as his lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, have been granted service connection. The initial ratings for the lumbar spine disability were reduced from 20% to 10%, effective November 6, 2013, while a separate 20% rating was assigned for the right lower extremity radiculopathy related to his cervical spine disability. The Veteran's cervical spine disability received an initial 20% rating as of March 10, 2011.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition. The claims for service connection for an esophageal condition, bladder condition, and PTSD are remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's right and left elbow braces are entitled to annual clothing allowances. The issue of a clothing allowance for topical pain medication (steroid cream) is remanded due to unclear reference in the SOC.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including GERD with Barrett’s esophagus, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, and a lumbar spine disability. The Veteran is also seeking TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on four specific conditions (left inguinal hernia, left shoulder disability, right foot disability, and back disability) have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeal. The Board has also remanded two additional issues: service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's service connection claim for a lumbar spine disability and granted it. However, the right lower extremity radiculopathy claim is remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence, including his statements at the April 2019 hearing.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient rationale in the previous VA examination regarding whether the Veteran's low back disability is related to his service-connected right leg disorder. The case will be returned for further development and an addendum medical opinion.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's back and left hip disabilities are not service-connected, as there is no evidence linking these conditions to his active military service.,Regarding the breathing disability (including a nasal disability, sinus disability, and COPD), the Board found insufficient evidence to establish a direct link between the condition and service. However, it granted secondary service connection for sleep apnea due to PTSD, finding that the Veteran's PTSD likely aggravated his pre-existing sleep apnea.,The Board also granted secondary service connection for GERD, attributing its onset or exacerbation to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability is related to his service and grants entitlement to service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction as secondary to his service-connected left varicocele is granted. The Board also finds that the Veteran is entitled to SMC based on loss of use of a creative organ due to his service-connected erectile dysfunction.

The Veteran's osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome, lumbar spine, with chronic low back pain was rated at 20 percent. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to limited range of motion.,The postoperative scar, lumbar spine, was rated as noncompensable under Diagnostic Code 7805. The Veteran's scar does not result in limitation of function to warrant a compensable disability rating.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine condition, finding that the evidence did not support a link to service or a service-connected condition.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for hypertension, a low back condition, and diabetes mellitus due to missing VA treatment records from October 1999.