Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2023

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and TDIU prior to April 15, 2014 due to insufficient medical opinions addressing these issues. Additional development is needed.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative arthritis, neck conditions, bilateral knee conditions, joint conditions, and back conditions. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service or any period of active duty.

The Board has granted service connection for right ankle, right knee, and back disabilities. The Veteran's bilateral hip disabilities are remanded for further examination.,Evidence of record does not support the reopening of claims for bilateral hip disabilities due to lack of a clinically diagnosed disability.

The Board has granted service connection for lumbar strain, left knee status-post ACL repair with degenerative arthritis, and right knee patellofemoral chondromalacia and degenerative arthritis. The conditions are found to be directly related to the Veteran's military service.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings in excess of 50 percent for a psychiatric disability, 10 percent for neck disability, and 10 percent for back disability has been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of the appeal.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and evaluation of various disabilities, including back disability, pes planus, thoracolumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, left upper and lower extremity disabilities (including peripheral neuropathy), and lichen simplex chronicus. The Veteran's testimony and medical records indicate that these conditions may be related to his military service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to unavailability of the Veteran for a VA examination and the need to obtain additional medical records. The Veteran's lower back condition is still under consideration.

The Board has granted a TDIU based solely on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome from May 14, 2015. Service connection for the lumbar spine disability is also granted. The rating for bilateral plantar fasciitis with arthritis and hypertension are both granted at 50 percent.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbar degeneration with IVDS is granted a higher initial rating of 40 percent prior to February 10, 2022 and denied an increased rating from that date.

The Board has remanded the cases for further action, including obtaining relevant private treatment records from Drs. Cantrone and C. Mebullo.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for chronic diverticulitis, lumbar spine disability, and cervical spine disability was dismissed.,The Veteran's claim for PTSD with generalized anxiety disorder was granted.

The Board denied reopening the previously denied claims for rib fractures and lumbar spine disorder due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, and left knee disabilities. The conditions are presumed to have been incurred during active service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability and left wrist disability has been reopened, and the claims are granted. The Veteran is also granted an increased rating of 60 percent for his GERD from June 16, 2017 to July 16, 2019.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development due to inadequate VA examinations and failure of the Veteran to appear for scheduled examinations. The Veteran is advised that she must cooperate with examination requests.

The Veteran's right foot degenerative arthritis is not service-connected.,His tinnitus was found to be related to noise exposure during service.

The Board has ordered the case remanded due to inadequate medical examinations, requiring a new VA examination that complies with specific holding in Sharp, Correia, and Mitchell.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's degenerative disc disease, lumbosacral spine, is service-connected. However, the claim for erectile dysfunction remains pending and requires further medical evaluation to determine its etiology.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy due to inadequate rationale in the previous VA opinion.

The Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for a back condition is considered reopened. The issues of service connection for a right hip disability, temporary total evaluations based on surgical or other treatment necessitating convalescence and hospital treatment in excess of 21 days, and additional benefits based on special monthly compensation are remanded.