Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2020

The Board has denied service connection for low back, left knee, and right leg/knee disorders due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated during active military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbosacral spine disability and an increased rating for his left shoulder disability, finding that there was no evidence linking these disabilities to his active service or any service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's Parkinson's disease, bilateral hearing loss, back disability, dementia, PTSD, and degenerative lumbar spine condition are all granted as service-connected due to in-service exposure to Agent Orange.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's paraplegia is proximately due to or a result of his service-connected lumbar spine conditions, and whether it is aggravated by those conditions. The VA must provide an addendum opinion addressing these issues.

The Veteran's lumbar disc disease is rated at 40% and his radiculopathy of the right lower extremity from January 21, 2009, and left lower extremity prior to January 21, 2020, are each separately rated at 10%. The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy is rated at 10% from January 21, 2020, and his left lower extremity radiculopathy remains denied.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40% and denied for a higher rating.,For the period prior to February 18, 2020, left lower extremity radiculopathy was granted at 40%. For right lower extremity radiculopathy, it was granted at 10%.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted service connection and rated at 10 percent. The cervical spine strain with DDD, left hip limitation of flexion, right hip limitation of flexion, right hip limitation of extension, left hip limitation of extension, impairment of the right thigh, and impairment of the left thigh are all denied ratings in excess of 10 percent.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim to reverse or revise the March 2012 rating decision as it pertained to service connection for a neck disability due to clear and unmistakable error (CUE). The March 2012 rating decision granted service connection for a thoracic and lumbar strain, which was claimed as an upper back condition. The Veteran's claim for a cervical spine disability was not addressed in the March 2012 decision.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including low back disability, sciatic nerve disorder, left and right knee disabilities, left and right hip disabilities, and lower extremity radiculopathies. The primary basis for denial is that there is no evidence of a direct relationship between these conditions and service.

The Board has granted service connection for DDD of the cervical spine. The claims for PTSD and COPD are remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new evidence and inconsistencies in previous decisions. The Veteran is required to provide authorization for VA to obtain his Social Security Administration records, as well as undergo examinations to determine the nature and etiology of various disabilities.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back and cervical spine conditions, finding that there is no medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for schizophrenia, a back condition, bronchitis, amnesia, fainting spells, and hypertension. The claims were not reopened.

The Board has denied service connection for the Veteran's low back disability and also denied a temporary total rating due to back surgery. The Board found that there was no evidence of a nexus between the current low back disability and service, and thus denied both claims.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disorder is currently rated at 10 percent from December 10, 2009 through December 12, 2010. The Board has remanded the issues of a rating in excess of 20 percent since December 13, 2010 for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran's low back disability was restored to a 40 percent rating effective August 18, 2015. The right upper extremity radiculopathy and cervical spine disabilities were not granted increased ratings.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative joint disease with intervertebral disc syndrome and spasms, finding that it is due to an in-service injury. The claim was reopened based on new evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for bilateral knee disorder and back disorder due to a lack of substantial compliance with previous directives.

The Veteran was granted a TDIU from April 6, 2010 to August 20, 2012. For the period prior to January 22, 2018, his PTSD was rated at 70 percent.

The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the low back and bilateral lower extremities neurological disorders. Service connection is being remanded for multiple joint arthritis, left upper extremity neurological disorder, and right upper extremity neurological disorder.