Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2022

The Veteran's right knee disorder, lower gastrointestinal disorder, and related shoulder disorders are being remanded for further evaluation due to the need for additional medical opinions. The lumbar spine disorder is also being remanded as it involves a secondary service connection claim.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for new VA examinations to determine the current nature and severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional examinations and development of records to determine the appropriate ratings for his service-connected conditions, including obstructive sleep apnea, PTSD, and lumbar strain with degenerative disc disease.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including traumatic arthritis of the left ankle and degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment prior to March 26, 2019.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for lumbosacral strain, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, and left knee disability due to inadequate reasoning in the VA examination reports. The examiner is instructed to provide a fully reasoned opinion addressing the Veteran's service connection claims based on his competent statements regarding in-service injuries.

The Veteran's low back disability, which includes a service-connected depressive disorder with generalized anxiety disorder, was found to not warrant a rating in excess of 20 percent from August 22, 2017.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions. The low back condition is denied as not related to service, while bowel disability and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are remanded.

The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's disabilities, as well as whether any additional disability was proximately caused by VA care. The Veteran is entitled to further development.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability has been reopened, but the issue of whether his low back disabilities are related to his service-connected left knee disabilities remains pending and requires further development.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability, headache disability, and sleep disability to include insomnia must be remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board has granted service connection for thoracolumbar muscle strain with muscle spasm and left knee chondromalacia, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether these conditions had their onset during active service.

The Board denied service connection for small vessel ischemic disease, seizure disorder, lipoma of the lumbar spine, right knee condition, acquired psychiatric disorders (including PTSD, somatoform disorder, and major depressive disorder), and gastroenteritis. The Veteran's conditions were not shown to be related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's back condition is related to service. The Veteran claims his current back symptoms are due to stress from combat situations, but the VA examiner found no evidence of such in-service conditions.

The Veteran's claim for a separate rating for urinary incontinence as a neurological manifestation of his service-connected lumbosacral strain has been denied. The Board found that the medical evidence does not support a finding that the urinary incontinence is related to his back disability. For the TDIU claim, the Veteran meets the schedular criteria but fails to provide sufficient evidence regarding the economic component as detailed by VA regulations.

The Board previously denied a higher rating for the Veteran's low back disability, but now remands the case due to potential functional loss equivalent to unfavorable ankylosis.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to inadequate VA examinations and requests for retrospective medical opinions regarding range of motion during flare-ups.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete service treatment records and a need for an addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's lumbar spine disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various spinal and radiculopathy disorders due to a lack of VA examinations. The Veteran is advised that failure to report for these exams may have detrimental consequences on his pending claims.

The Board has found that additional development is needed for the Veteran's claims of entitlement to higher disability evaluations for hepatitis C and lumbar sprain. The appeal will be remanded to obtain updated VA treatment records from September 9, 2022, and readjudicate the issues based on all relevant evidence.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for gastrointestinal disorder and lumbar spine disorder due to a lack of substantial compliance with previous directives.