Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to insufficient range of motion assessments from prior VA examinations.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate VA medical opinion and missing VA and private treatment records. The Veteran's lumbar spine disorder is being reviewed for service connection, etiology, causation, and aggravation.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for lumbar spine disability and upper extremity nerve disability due to incomplete records, including service treatment records from Germany and Iraq. The Veteran is entitled to further examination and review of his claims.

The Veteran's left knee degenerative joint disease limits flexion to at worst 70 degrees, warranting a 10 percent rating.,Service connection for the low back disability and sinus disability is remanded due to insufficient evidence in some cases.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for back and neck disabilities due to insufficient evidence, including a need for VA medical opinions considering all of his past medical history.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating of 40 percent for his thoracolumbar spine disorder, which began in October 2013, was granted. The decision also noted that the Veteran has left leg lumbar radiculopathy, rated at 10 percent.

The Veteran's claim for a special home adaptation grant is denied as he does not meet the criteria for such a grant due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence received after the last SSOC, and it is not clear if service connection should be granted based on the current evidence.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to insufficient evidence in the record regarding the severity and frequency of the Veteran's service-connected right hip strain, lumbar strain, and right knee strain.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's pre-existing lumbar scoliosis was aggravated by his military service.

The Veteran's cervical strain with spondylosis and degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease is currently rated at 10 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating available under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The appeal has been denied.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability and bilateral lower extremity nerve damage.,Other claims, including those for left ankle disability, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, and TBI residual tension headache, are remanded.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability was reopened and granted. The claims for increased ratings for left knee strain with degenerative arthritis, right hip strain, and lumbar spine disability were denied. The TDIU claim was granted.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for cervical spine disability, thoracolumbar spine disability, tension headaches, and sleep apnea due to incomplete medical opinions and lack of consideration of the Veteran's lay statements.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted on an extraschedular basis beginning May 6, 2011. The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing and following substantially gainful employment since then.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for IVDS with degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was denied. The issues of service connection for right hip osteoarthritis and a stomach hernia were remanded.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine disorder, including DJD of the lumbar spine and other back conditions, as there was no evidence of chronic disability resulting from in-service events.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating of his low back disability and service connection for right ulnar neuropathy was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on limitation of motion or intervertebral disc syndrome, and also determined there was no link between the current condition and either service or the service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted TDIU.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for sciatica of the left lower extremity and residual lumbar scar associated with intervertebral disc syndrome were denied as there was no communication prior to July 31, 2012 that could be reasonably construed as a claim of entitlement to benefits.