Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2022

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a right hip disability, including as proximately caused by service-connected knee and back disabilities, is being remanded due to procedural errors in the initial handling of his appeal under VA's Legacy system. The issues will be readjudicated once the proper procedural steps are taken.

The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 50 percent for migraines has been withdrawn.,His claim to reopen the service connection for lumbar spine condition is granted, and his claim for secondary service connection for meningioma (as secondary to service-connected migraines) and TDIU due to lumbar spine condition are both remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected low back disability prior to February 3, 2010, precluded him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment. The Board granted TDIU for this condition.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable prior to January 19, 2011. The Board found insufficient evidence to substantiate a reasonable possibility that the Veteran is unemployable by reason of his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the Veteran's assertions of in-service helicopter accidents and post-service injuries, as well as his private treatment records.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for higher disability ratings for his service-connected lumbar spine and left knee disabilities due to incomplete VA examinations.

The Veteran's left shoulder, right shoulder, thoracolumbar spine, cervical spine, and right knee disorders are all granted service connection. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not caused by National Guard duty.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of TDIU due to service-connected disabilities, finding that there was no factually ascertainable increase in disability prior to September 11, 2012.

The Board has found that the VA examinations did not comply with the July 2021 Board remand directives and thus, the claims for right knee tendonitis with arthritis, thoracolumbar spine with arthritis, right elbow, right foot condition, left foot condition, right hand condition, left hand condition, and left elbow are being remanded for further development.

The Board has granted service connection for thoracolumbar spine spondylosis and degenerative arthritis, as well as left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis and rotator cuff tear residuals, based on the Veteran's in-service lifting injuries and resulting chronic conditions.

The Veteran's appeals for sleep apnea, hemorrhoids, and Raynaud's disease were dismissed as withdrawn. The claims of service connection for prostate condition (including elevated PSA and enlargement), lumbar spine disability, pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, and cervical spine disability are reopened.

The Board has dismissed all the issues of service connection for various conditions as the Veteran died during the appeal process.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for open angle glaucoma and a lumbar spine disability, to include arthritis of the lumbar spine and chronic low back strain, are granted. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability and other conditions have not prevented him from securing or following a substantial gainful occupation during the period in question.

The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating of 40 percent for left lumbar radiculopathy has been granted. The referral for extraschedular consideration of the evaluation of service-connected left lumbar radiculopathy is also remanded.

The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to a Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's employment status and history are unclear, and he needs to complete a VA Form 21-8940 to clarify his work history.

The Board dismissed the appeals for various conditions due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that new and material evidence was presented. The Board also found in favor of the Veteran on his claim for service connection for lumbar spondylosis, granting it based on continuity of symptomatology since service.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his back disability, including IVDS and degenerative disc disease, is denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent from November 1, 2019.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbar strain, diagnosed as thoracic degenerative disc disease and myofascial dysfunction, and headaches that are secondary to his service-connected lumbar strain.