Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2022

The Board has found the November 2021 VA examination inadequate and remanded for a new examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected back disability. The ankle disability claim is granted with a 20 percent rating.

The Veteran's back disability and TDIU claim are being remanded due to the need for new examinations, as well as the retrieval of VA and private treatment records.

The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar spine injury residuals with traumatic arthritis from February 4, 2009, to February 22, 2016 has been withdrawn. The Board finds that the Veteran has effectively withdrawn this issue and therefore it must be dismissed. The TDIU claim is remanded due to its interrelatedness with the radiculopathy claim.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for back and stomach conditions due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran testified that he injured his back during active service but did not seek treatment until after separation, while GERD was diagnosed as recently as November 2018.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment prior to July 31, 2019.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and consideration, including obtaining additional medical records and providing supplemental VA opinions.

The Board has remanded the claims of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen the previously denied claims for service connection for bilateral shin splints, an acquired psychiatric disorder (originally claimed as anger issues), and a lumbar spine disability.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for facial scarring, TBI residuals, a low back condition, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and a respiratory condition have been dismissed. The claims of entitlement to service connection for the low back condition and an acquired psychiatric disorder were reopened due to new evidence submitted since the final decisions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete inpatient treatment records from Tyndall Air Force Base hospital, and further development is needed.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to insufficient evidence linking his testicular adenomatoid tumor and fractures of the left 5th metatarsal, as well as other conditions. The rating for residuals of fracture of the left 5th metatarsal remains at noncompensable prior to July 1, 2021.

The Board has decided to remand the cases for additional development due to insufficient medical opinions and missing records. The issues of service connection for cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, and TDIU are being reviewed.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's cervical spine disability with bilateral radiculopathy of upper extremities, right lower extremity radiculopathy/sciatica/neuropathy, and bilateral peripheral neuropathy of upper and lower extremities. The claims were remanded due to need for additional medical opinions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbar injury and left leg radiculopathy were reopened. The Board found that the evidence did not support direct service connection, but granted the claims as the Veteran has diagnosed conditions related to his in-service complaints.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar disc disease is not incurred in or related to his active service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied due to lack of evidence linking the claimed conditions to service. The claim for OSA was also denied as there is no current diagnosis.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back and neck disabilities, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to his active duty service.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the issues of initial compensable disability rating for right knee disability, service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and service connection for lumbar degenerative disease (low back disability).

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for neck and back disabilities due to inadequate medical opinions in previous examinations. The claims are now pending with instructions to obtain additional records and conduct further evaluations.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability, finding that his current condition is at least as likely as not related to his active-duty service.

The Board has granted service connection for hemorrhoids and a lumbar spine disability, diagnosed as lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's conditions first manifested in service and are related to his military service.