Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2019

The Veteran's dizziness and acquired psychiatric condition are granted service connection, but her cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, left knee, right knee, and dyspareunia conditions remain unresolved due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's lower back disability was granted a rating of 20 percent for the period prior to September 27, 2017. The condition most nearly approximated muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour.

The Board has dismissed all the issues related to service connection and rating for various conditions, as well as the request for an effective date prior to March 12, 2012. The appellant requested withdrawal of his appeal.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations and evaluations to determine the nature, etiology, severity, and service connection of her claimed conditions.

The Veteran's claims for low back, left knee, and right knee disorders are remanded due to the submission of new service treatment records. The claim for increased PTSD ratings is also remanded as there are no recent VA treatment records or updated examinations.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a substance abuse disability has been reopened. The issues of entitlement to service connection for psychiatric disabilities, including a substance abuse disability; right foot disability; sleep apnea; bilateral hearing loss; tinnitus; esophageal disorder; hypertension; chronic lumbar strain with degenerative disc disease (DDD); and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity are all remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's currently diagnosed low back disability is related to active service and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded three issues: entitlement to a TDIU, hypertension rating, and L4-5 disc herniation rating. The Veteran will be asked to complete forms for the TDIU claim, obtain his VA treatment records, and provide information about private treatment providers. He will also undergo examinations for his hypertension and lumbar spine disability.

The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for spondylolisthesis of the lumbar spine is remanded due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Veteran's DDD and herniated disc of the cervical spine are related to an in-service motor vehicle accident, and service connection is granted.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various conditions due to a need to obtain additional information from Social Security Administration (SSA) records.

The Board has reopened the claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to new evidence received since the May 2008 rating decision. The case is now remanded for further development, including obtaining SSA records and providing a medical opinion regarding whether VA care caused or worsened the Veteran's current back disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for neck disorder, low back disorder, and peripheral neuropathy due to Agent Orange exposure. The VA will obtain additional medical records and provide addendum opinions from a qualified examiner regarding the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's claimed bilateral lower extremity numbness, left ankle disability, right ankle disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, left shoulder disability, and right shoulder disability are not service-connected as they do not have a direct link to his military service.,The Veteran's claimed lumbar spine disability is also not service-connected.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims of increased ratings for lumbar spondylosis and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, as well as the TDIU claim. The Veteran needs to be provided with VA examinations to assess his current level of disability.

The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine spondylolisthesis and degenerative disk disease L5-S1, finding that the Veteran's low back disability began during her military service. The right breast cancer claim is remanded due to incomplete information regarding periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA).

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death. The Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of his claims as they are now moot.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current low back disability and left ear drum injury are not related to service, and thus denied service connection for these conditions.,A new VA examination is needed to assess the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disorder and bilateral hearing loss disability are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for Reiter’s syndrome, low back disability, bilateral knee disability, bilateral ankle disability, and bilateral foot disability. The most probative evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by service.