Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2020

The Board has granted the Veteran's petitions to reopen her previously denied claims for service connection for various knee, hip, and ankle disorders as secondary to her service-connected bilateral foot disabilities. The Board found that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether these conditions are caused by her service-connected bilateral feet disabilities.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that the Veteran's continuous chronic low back symptomatology since service is sufficient to establish service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected herniated nucleus pulpous at L4-5 and L5-S1 status post microdiscectomy left L4-5 with degenerative disc disease is granted a 40% evaluation, effective from the date of claim. The Veteran's left knee flexion prior to August 13, 2012, and left knee total replacement from October 1, 2013 are both granted.

The Veteran's right shoulder and back disabilities are being remanded for further evaluation due to the lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives.

The Board denied service connection for a thoracolumbosacral spine condition and a bilateral hip and leg condition (claimed as bilateral knee condition associated with bilateral pes planus) due to lack of evidence supporting the Veteran's claims. The Board also denied an increased rating for his service-connected bilateral pes planus.,Service connection was not granted because there is no medical evidence linking the Veteran’s spine or joint conditions to his active service, and the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are secondary to his service-connected pes planus.

The Veteran's low back and neck disabilities are granted as secondary to his service-connected right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome, and right rotator cuff tear with Mumford procedure, subacromial decompression and anterior labral tear, respectively.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development regarding his entitlement to a TDIU prior to May 7, 2010.

The Board denied service connection for a chronic back condition and the TDIU claim due to lack of evidence linking the current disability to military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle, bilateral hip, bilateral knee, bilateral shoulder, bilateral wrist and low back disabilities due to insufficient medical opinions addressing all raised theories of entitlement.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate reasoning and need for further development, including an addendum VA opinion.

The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding the cause of death. The appellant must provide a medical opinion on whether any service-connected disability contributed to or caused the Veteran's death.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates as they were not filed on the correct form and did not meet legal requirements.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions as they were not properly appealed after a higher level review.

The Veteran's cervical spine condition is granted service connection. The remaining issues of COPD, diabetes, hypertension, left hip condition, right hip condition, and right knee condition are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to their impact on his upper and lower extremities, as they do not result in loss of use of both upper or lower extremities.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of degenerative changes lumbar spine, dysthymic disorder, and lymphedema, right leg were dismissed as the original claims had been finally adjudicated without reopening.,The effective dates assigned by the November 1999 rating decision (April 22, 1993) for service connection of degenerative changes lumbar spine, and the December 1997 rating decision (August 11, 1993) for dysthymic disorder and lymphedema, right leg, were final.

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of service connection for lumbar spine disorder and right foot pes planus. The Veteran's claim for bilateral hearing loss is denied as he does not have a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss. The Board found that further development is needed for the claims of service connection for lumbar spine disorder and right foot pes planus due to insufficient medical opinions.

The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for his degenerative disc and joint disease of the lumbar spine, with IVDS, since January 21, 2020, is denied as there is no evidence that the condition has resulted in forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine to less than 30 degrees or favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability, finding that his current back disability did not have its onset during active service and is not otherwise etiologically related to such service.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder and a right hip disorder, finding that the evidence did not establish a current disability or a link to service.,Service connection was also denied for these conditions due to lack of continuity of symptoms since service.