Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's cervical spine disability. The VA examiner was asked to address whether the Veteran's current cervical spine disability is related to service, but did not consider his lay statements about symptoms since service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus, hypertension, respiratory disability (asthma and COPD), back disability, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, headache disability, polymyalgia rheumatica, rheumatoid arthritis, and voiding dysfunction are not service-connected. The claims for these conditions have been remanded to obtain additional medical opinions.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension and an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with spondylolisthesis L5-S1.

The Board has remanded several claims for increased ratings and TDIU, including those related to the Veteran's low back disability, right knee disability, right ankle disability, and left lower extremity radiculopathy. The claims are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports and the need for new VA examinations.

The Board has decided that the Veteran does not have a current disability for which compensation is payable for tooth loss. The remaining issues of rating and TDIU are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's hepatitis B was not shown to be related to service, and the Board denied this claim.,Service connection for benign prostate hypertrophy (claimed as enlarged prostate) was also denied because there is no evidence of a current disability or relationship to service.,The Veteran's esophageal reflux was not linked to his service, and thus denial of this claim.,For cervical spine condition and lumbar area pain, the Board found insufficient evidence linking these conditions to service. The claims were therefore denied.,There is no indication that the low back disability is related to service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for epilepsy and sinus tachycardia have been dismissed due to her withdrawal from appeal. The remaining issues of service connection, rating, and TDIU are remanded.

The Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with radiculopathy and other service-connected conditions have been granted increased ratings, and a TDIU has been granted for the period from June 10, 2011 to April 22, 2013. The case is remanded for additional development.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities from October 13, 2010, but no earlier. The TDIU is granted on an extraschedular basis.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for his low back condition, finding that there was no clear and unmistakable evidence to show that his preexisting back condition worsened during service. The Board also noted that the Veteran did not have any permanent or chronic conditions after treatment of in-service complaints.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to incomplete development, including the need for updated private medical records and an orthopedic VA examination.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to procedural errors in previous decisions, including issues with timeliness of notices and obtaining STRs from the Veteran's period of active duty for training. The claims are now pending again.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for various conditions due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's appeals for increased evaluations and service connection have been dismissed due to the withdrawal of his appeal by his representative.

The Board has granted service connection for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, as well as cervical degenerative disc disease, all secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes planus.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for various disabilities as they are not currently in a position to make decisions due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability due to new and material evidence received since the February 2001 rating decision. The case is remanded for further development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records, particularly physical therapy records from 2017-2018.

The Veteran's right shoulder and low back disabilities have been denied increased ratings. The case for his hip conditions is being remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to outstanding medical records from his treatment at Choice First Chiropractic. The Board needs to obtain these records before making a decision on the rating for his chronic lumbar spine strain.

The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left knee disability, acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD), and upper back disorder due to further development being required.