Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2019

The Board has restored a 40 percent rating for the service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, effective from January 1, 2008.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine, coronary artery disease, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss, render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. As a result, TDIU is granted.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the nature and origin of her low back, right knee, and acquired psychiatric disabilities. The claims will be reviewed again with new medical opinions addressing causation and aggravation.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to outstanding VA and private treatment records, as well as incomplete vocational rehabilitation folders. The Veteran is also required to undergo VA examinations for her lumbar spine and left knee disabilities.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a back disability due to new and material evidence, but has remanded the issue for further development as there is conflicting medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's pre-existing condition was aggravated by his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spine disability on the basis that it is proximately due to his service-connected left shoulder disability. The claim for an increased rating for lumbosacral spine disability remains pending and will be remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection due to incomplete examinations, lack of retrospective opinions, and other procedural issues. The Veteran will need to undergo additional VA examinations and provide updated treatment records.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine condition is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and opinion.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for a back disability. The case is remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff strain with osteoarthritis and lumbar spondylosis with degenerative arthritis have been dismissed due to the Veteran's request for withdrawal of all issues in this appeal prior to the promulgation of a decision.

The Veteran's PTSD and MDD have been granted a 100% schedular disability rating, effective from January 28, 2015. The low back disability claim is remanded for further examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for vertigo, Meniere’s disease, traumatic brain injury (shrapnel in brain, right side), and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with right lower extremity radiculopathy should be remanded due to incomplete development. Specifically, there is a need to obtain VA treatment records from 2016 onwards, as well as VA treatment records from the early 1970s at a VA medical facility in New York City. Additionally, an examination is needed to determine if the Veteran's lumbar spine condition is related to service, and a copy of the Statement of the Case (SOC) issued in December 2016 should be obtained.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for multilevel degenerative disc and facet joint disease of C3-4, C4-5, claimed as neck injury, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between the current disability and service.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection and higher ratings was dismissed due to withdrawal. The RO granted a 20% rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, PTSD prior to May 21, 2012, and TDIU.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for a low back condition, finding that new and material evidence was not received.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for back and right hip disorders, as well as his TDIU claim, have been denied. The evidence submitted since the final denial does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating these claims.

The case is being remanded for further examination to clarify the severity of the Veteran's spine disability, including any ankylosis.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and skin rash have been denied. The Board finds that a new VA examination is needed to determine the nature and etiology of his low back disability and functional gastrointestinal disorder.,Service connection for a low back disability and functional gastrointestinal disorder (GERD) cannot be established as there are no objective indications of qualifying chronic disabilities.

The Board has remanded three issues related to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine, left and right lower extremity conditions. The Veteran will need to provide any missing records from Bagram Hospital in Afghanistan, Kandahar TMC, and Dr. Parker.

The previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disability is reopened. The Veteran's claims for left and right knee disabilities are remanded due to the need for additional examinations.