Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2019

The Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbar spine DDD was reopened and granted. The appeal is remanded to determine the relationship between the current condition and service.

The Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his lumbar strain condition and service connection for obstructive sleep apnea are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions.

The petition to reopen the claim of service connection for a low back disability is granted. Service connection itself is denied, but the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability remains at its current noncompensable rating.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional examinations and development of records. The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is currently rated as 20 percent disabling, but he seeks higher ratings.

The Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine has worsened since his last VA examination, and a new VA examination is needed to determine its current severity.

The Board denied service connection for multilevel degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, neck condition, right knee disability, and residuals of a staph infection due to lack of evidence showing in-service injury or disease.,Service connection was not granted as there is no clear and unmistakable evidence that the conditions pre-existed service or were aggravated by military service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his bilateral knee conditions and service connection for low back disability and wrist disability are being remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for a back disability and peripheral vascular disease (claimed as bilateral leg disability) have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and reopening of service connection claims were denied. The rating for tinnitus was found to be at the maximum allowable, asthma was rated appropriately based on PFT results, and new evidence did not support reopening of claims for recurrent ear infections or breast augmentation. Service connection for left knee disorder, low back disorder, left hip disorder, right hip disorder, and left leg disorder were denied due to lack of service connection.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a bilateral ankle disability, low back disability (secondary to ankle), and bilateral knee disability (secondary to ankle) due to incomplete records of treatment. The Veteran is asked to provide authorization for VA to obtain his medical records from private providers who have treated him since 1969.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including lower back condition, left leg condition, left knee condition, bilateral hips conditions, bilateral ankle conditions, bilateral foot conditions, anxiety, depression, COPD, headaches, and loss of right kidney are denied.,Right knee and right leg conditions are remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for the award of TDIU prior to September 19, 2013. The Board finds that referral to the VA Director of Compensation Service for adjudication of the TDIU claim under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b) is warranted.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for a lower back disability has been reopened, and the issue is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination. The issues of service connection for right and left lower extremity neurological disabilities are also being remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbosacral strain and an initial rating of 10 percent for bilateral flat feet. The decision found that there was no evidence to support a relationship between the Veteran's current conditions and his military service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's petitions to reopen previously denied claims for service connection of DDD of the lumbar spine, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left knee injury, and right knee injury. The petition to reopen the claim for asthma was also denied as no new and material evidence was presented.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for low back, right knee, and left knee disabilities has been remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations. The claim for a nervous condition is also being remanded.

The Veteran's PTSD claim is reopened and granted. Headaches are not service-connected, but right knee tricompartmental osteoarthritis is secondary to his service-connected left knee conditions. The effective dates for the awards of service connection for left knee disabilities are set at May 2, 2013.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his service-connected low back disability and for a TDIU due to the receipt of new evidence since the February 2018 statement of the case. The RO must consider this additional evidence in their next readjudication.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right shoulder, low back, and right lower leg/knee disabilities due to the evidence being at least in equipoise regarding their onset during active service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disorder and sarcoidosis due to incomplete development, including obtaining medical records and verifying periods of service. The Veteran will need VA examinations to address whether his current diagnoses are related to in-service incidents.