Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2022

The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 40 percent since December 10, 2012 for service-connected low back disability due to the lack of unfavorable ankylosis or incapacitating episodes.

The Board has denied service connection for a back disability and has remanded the issue of assigning an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for intermittent subluxation of the right shoulder.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings, service connection, or reopening of previously denied claims have been granted. The case is remanded for further development on some issues.

The Board has denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability and nerve damage, finding that the Veteran did not have a chronic disease in service or continuous symptoms since service separation. The current diagnoses of spondylolisthesis, stenosis, degenerative disc disease, degenerative arthritis, and IVDS were not shown to be related to service.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus is denied.,An effective date of August 13, 1982 is granted for the grant of service connection for tinnitus.,Issues related to head injury, headaches, low back condition, speech difficulties due to head injury, sleep disorder (including sleep apnea), and a cyst on the left side of the brain are remanded for further development.,The Veteran's claim to reopen a previously denied claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various foot and joint disabilities, including as due to a service-connected left ankle disability. The evidence does not support an etiological link between these conditions and active service or any incident of service.

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for further development regarding the Veteran's need for regular aid and attendance, specifically related to his service-connected disabilities other than schizophrenia.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate opinions regarding whether his service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his claimed conditions. The issues include sleep apnea, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, multilevel degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, basal cell carcinoma, and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's lumbar spine disorder and his service-connected left knee disability. The Veteran is seeking service connection for a lumbar spine disorder that he contends was aggravated by his service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened and are granted. The Board finds that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claims of service connection for low back disorder, heart disorder (to include as secondary to service-connected disability), acquired psychiatric disorder (including depression and PTSD) (to include as secondary to service-connected disability), left knee disorder, and sleep apnea (to include as secondary to service-connected disability).

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to inadequate development, specifically failing to notify him of scheduled VA examinations. The claims for service connection and increased rating are being returned for further action.

The Board has granted service connection for left knee strain and lumbosacral strain and degenerative arthritis of the spine, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not related to his military service.,Service connection was denied for tinnitus due to a lack of evidence linking the condition to military noise exposure.

The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions are denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or a link to service.

A 40 percent rating is granted for degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine prior to October 22, 2014.,A 60 percent rating and no higher is granted for left total knee replacement with degenerative joint disease and strain from October 1, 2015.,A separate 10 percent rating based on limited extension is granted for left knee osteoarthritis prior to August 18, 2014.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for a back condition. The remaining issues of service connection for left shoulder, hip, and LLE nerve conditions are remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right knee and lumbar spine disabilities, as well as his TDIU claim due to inadequate examinations in previous years. The claims will be returned to the AOJ for further development.

The Veteran's low back disability is not service-connected.,Anxiety disorder was initially granted a 30% rating from October 3, 2018 to December 24, 2020.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right knee DJD, left knee DJD, and lumbar disorder have been denied. The RO has continued the existing 10 percent ratings for these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) for the period from February 13, 2011 to March 29, 2012 due to insufficient evidence showing that his service-connected cervical and lumbosacral spine disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to obtain and follow a substantially gainful occupation since September 19, 2020.