Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2020

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability, radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, right femoral nerve damage, and voiding dysfunction. The current ratings are considered appropriate.

The Veteran's DDD of the lumbar spine was granted a 40% rating effective October 12, 2016. The VA examiner found that the Veteran had an inability to flex beyond 30 degrees due to pain.

The Board has denied service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease and remanded the remaining issues. The Veteran's claims are now pending before the RO.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of evidence regarding whether the Veteran's current thoracic spine condition is related to his service, including his in-service diagnosis of L5-S1 herniated disk and/or his in-service vehicle rollover accident.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right ankle, right knee, left knee, and low back disabilities due to inadequate etiology opinions in a previous VA examination.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a right wrist disability, right ankle disability, and low back disability due to inadequate reasons or bases in the previous decision. The issues are being returned for further action.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for a higher rating for her lumbosacral spine strain due to insufficient evidence in the record, including an outdated VA examination. The Veteran is required to provide updated medical records and undergo another VA examination.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for the lumbar spine disability was withdrawn by the Veteran in October 2017.,A TDIU was granted from December 1, 2015, to January 20, 2016. The Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities during this period that rendered him unable to engage and retain substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied service connection for neck and lumbar spine disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a link to military service.

The Veteran's back disability is rated at 40 percent since May 6, 2014.,Radiculopathy of the left leg and right leg are each rated at 20 percent since January 22, 2007.

The Veteran's PTSD was not found to meet the criteria for a higher rating than 70 percent.,Service connection for a skin disorder, hypertension, and back disorder were denied due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or herbicide exposure.,A TDIU rating has been granted but does not affect the initial PTSD rating claim.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disorder is granted service connection. The cervical and shoulder disorders are remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the claims for increased ratings for lumbar degenerative disc disease with strain, left knee arthritis, and left ankle arthritis due to inadequate examinations that did not address flare-ups of the disabilities.

The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's cervical spine disability and bilateral knee disabilities. The claims are not currently decided on service connection grounds.

The Board has decided to remand four issues: asthma, migraines, back condition, and genitourinary condition. The AOJ is required to obtain pertinent service records, STRs, and VA and private medical records for the Veteran. Additionally, a new examination is needed to determine the current severity of his service-connected asthma and migraines, as well as to ascertain the nature and etiology of his claimed back condition and genitourinary condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of a VA examination and treatment records, as well as insufficient etiology opinions regarding the Veteran's erectile dysfunction. The Veteran is service connected for hypertension and other conditions that may be related to his erectile dysfunction.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for traumatic brain injury is denied as there is no current diagnosis of the condition.,The Veteran's claim for increased disability rating for thoracolumbar degenerative joint disease with degenerative disc disease at L4-S1 is denied as his disability does not meet or approximate criteria for a higher than 20 percent rating.,The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for left knee and right knee disabilities are denied as there is no evidence of the conditions warranting a higher than 10 percent rating.,A separate 10 percent disability rating is granted for slight lateral instability of the right knee from July 30, 2019.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to the need to obtain VA treatment records related to her back, feet, and knees from April 2, 2020 to the present.

The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was denied. The claim for left lower radiculopathy prior to December 19, 2018 was also denied. However, a 40 percent rating was granted for left lower extremity radiculopathy from December 19, 2018.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at the highest available rating due to limitation of motion. His radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities has been rated as 10 percent prior to November 15, 2019 and 20 percent thereafter.