Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2020

The Veteran's service-connected right and left knee disabilities, along with his PTSD, have rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right ankle disability and denied claims for left ankle, bilateral hip, bronchitis, sinus, lumbar spine, and bilateral knee disabilities. The case is being remanded to obtain an addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's lumbar spine and bilateral knee disabilities.

The Veteran's back disability, radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities, and right shoulder disability are all granted as service-connected.,Service connection for a psychiatric disability is not established.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and evaluation of his lumbar spine conditions due to incomplete opinions regarding causation and aggravation, as well as a lack of information on flare-ups.

The Veteran's claim for TDIU prior to November 12, 2014 was denied as he had not been rendered unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.,The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for DDD of the lumbar spine was also denied. The current effective date is October 7, 2011.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for her left knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea due to lack of recent VA examinations. The earlier effective date claim is also remanded as the AOJ has not yet issued a Statement of the Case (SOC).

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability as secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, finding that there is no evidence of aggravation by these disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development on issues of service connection and initial ratings.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and medical opinions regarding the service connection of the Veteran's claimed left knee and low back disabilities, as secondary to his service-connected left ankle disability.

The Board has remanded the TDIU claim due to a lack of an examination assessing the Veteran's employability considering his service-connected disabilities. A new VA examination is needed.

The Veteran's right knee sprain is granted as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability, effective April 23, 2007.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 40 percent for lumbosacral strain was denied, and his TDIU claim was granted. The Board found that the Veteran’s disability did not meet the criteria for an extraschedular TDIU due to the adequacy of the schedular ratings.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates are being remanded due to the need for additional development.,Specifically, the Board is requesting that SSA provide any underlying medical records used in their March 2012 decision on the Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy claim.

The Veteran's initial 70 percent evaluation for PTSD is granted. The issues of increased evaluations for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease and radiculitis, as well as TDIU, are remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a finding that his right above the knee amputation was not caused by VA's negligence or fault.

The Board has remanded the claims for residuals of a head injury, lumbar spine disability, and related conditions due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran's service records indicate he had headaches in service but no definitive diagnosis or treatment.

The Veteran's neck disability was granted a 30 percent rating prior to November 27, 2019.,A higher rating for the neck disability is denied from November 27, 2019 onwards.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and verifying stressor information.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not meet the schedular rating requirements for a TDIU prior to December 20, 2017. The Board found that he was actually working at that time and therefore denied his claim.

The Veteran's TDIU and DEA benefits were granted effective June 10, 2018, as she met the criteria for a permanent and total service-connected disability at that time.