Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2023

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development and an opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's upper back disorder.

The Board has remanded the claims for hernia, low back condition, TBI, right ankle disability, and right wrist disability due to lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives.

The Veteran's cervical strain and degenerative disc disease (DDD) are granted service connection.,Left mastoid sinus disease is granted a separate rating, but not in excess of the current noncompensable rating.

The Veteran's petition to reopen the claim for service connection for hypertension was granted, and he is now entitled to a grant of service connection. The Veteran also has been granted service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) but not for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease.

The Board has remanded the claims for a thoracolumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, carpal tunnel syndrome of the left upper extremity, and carpal tunnel syndrome of the right upper extremity due to potential service connection issues related to aggravation.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine disability prior to November 5, 2014, and in excess of 40 percent thereafter due to lack of compliance with remand directives.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability and gastrointestinal disability (ulcers). The claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral pes planus prior to September 12, 2022 was also denied. The claim for a rating in excess of 30 percent for bilateral pes planus as of September 12, 2022 was also denied.,The Board found that the Veteran did not have a current diagnosis of a back disability or gastrointestinal disability (ulcers) related to service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further examination and to obtain relevant treatment records, including those from non-VA providers. The issues of rating cervical spine disability, right shoulder disability, and right elbow disability are being remanded due to the possibility of material worsening since the last VA examination in February 2018.

The Board has determined that the VA's remand instructions were not followed and thus, the case must be returned to the RO for further development. The Veteran seeks service connection for a cervical spine disability either as directly related to his service or as caused by his service-connected low back disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of left knee disability, right knee disability, left hip disability, right hip disability, and back disability. The claim for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD prior to February 18, 2020, was also denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back condition, finding that there was no nexus between his current low back condition and his military service or any service-connected conditions.

The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, cervical spine disability, thoracic spine disability, low back disability, right hip disability, left hip disability, traumatic brain injury (TBI), headache disability, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and service.,The Board found that there was no credible evidence of an in-service injury or incident related to the claimed disabilities.

The Board has remanded the cases due to a lack of current evidence regarding the Veteran's service-connected degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy. A new VA examination is required for each condition.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for persistent depressive disorder has been dismissed. The Board has remanded the remaining issues of service connection for various conditions, including left shoulder degenerative arthritis, cervical spine condition, and ankle, knee, foot, thigh, and back conditions.

The appeal is dismissed for the issue of an effective date prior to March 11, 2014 for the grant of service connection for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (sciatic nerve). The appeals for higher ratings for lumbosacral degenerative disc disease and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity are remanded.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for right knee disability, left knee disability, and thoracolumbar spine disability due to additional evidence received after a previous SSOC. The case will be returned to the Board for further review.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral shoulder, knee, foot, hearing loss, and low back disabilities have been reopened. Bilateral knee and foot disabilities are granted, while the denial of bilateral shoulder disability remains unchanged.,Bilateral hearing loss and OSA claims are remanded for further evaluation.

The Board has remanded the case for obtaining outstanding medical records and readjudicating the claims on appeal. The Veteran is required to submit or authorize VA to obtain all non-VA medical records related to his claims, including those from a private primary care physician he was seeing since 2009.

Service connection for COPD is granted from August 10, 2022, due to exposure to fine particulate matter during service in the Persian Gulf. The Veteran's PTSD and hypertension are not rated higher.

The Board has remanded the case for additional examinations to assess the severity of the Veteran's lumbar spine disability, as previous VA examinations did not comply with the requirements set forth in Correia and Sharp.