Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2023

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and low back disorder have been denied. The claim for skin cancer is remanded.

The Veteran's application to reopen claims for service connection for cervical spine arthritis, lumbar spine arthritis, disc bulges, and right ankle arthritis was dismissed. The appeals for seborrheic dermatitis, right knee disability, TMJ, and major depressive disorder were granted.,The Veteran is now entitled to an increased rating of 40 percent for his right foot disability, a 50 percent rating for his right wrist degenerative arthritis from April 26, 2016, and a TDIU from August 8, 2016 to October 19, 2020.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder, to include as secondary to his service-connected left varicocele, due to incomplete service treatment records and the need for clarification of the nature and etiology of his current back disorder.

The Board denied service connection for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disorders, finding no evidence of a current disability related to service or the presumption period.

The Board has remanded the cases due to insufficient evidence regarding the severity of the Veteran's lumbar spine and right knee disabilities prior to February 3, 2020. The Veteran is required to undergo further examinations to assess these conditions without the ameliorative effects of medication.

The Veteran's knee and ankle disabilities were denied, while service connection for a right ankle disability was granted. The back disability claim was also denied as secondary to the knee disability.

The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 70 percent, and the Board has remanded to determine if a higher rating is warranted.,TDIU was denied as the evidence does not show that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities preclude substantial gainful employment.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability, finding that there is not sufficient evidence to establish a link between his current degenerative arthritis and his active service.,The Board has also remanded the claims for service connection for left ankle and left foot disabilities due to conflicting medical opinions and lack of proper evidentiary development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable prior to May 21, 2012. The Board found that the evidence did not support his claim for a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Board has decided to remand three issues related to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities: a rating in excess of 40 percent for lumbar spine disability, a rating in excess of 50 percent for acquired psychiatric disability, and a compensable rating for scar, status post L5 microdiskectomy. The decision is based on the need for new VA examinations due to the passage of time since the last evaluations.

The Veteran's service connection claims for intermittent tension headaches, cervical spine degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease other than IVDS, right hip strain and trochanteric pain syndrome, left hip strain and trochanteric pain syndrome, and pan sinusitis of the sphenoidal and maxillary sinuses with bilateral mastoid effusions have all been granted due to presumed exposure during service in Southwest Asia.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and service connection are remanded due to insufficient information on which to decide the claims. The Veteran is required to undergo VA examinations to determine the nature and cause of his sleep disabilities, low back disabilities, body aches (including fibromyalgia), and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has determined that another remand is necessary due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities, including heart disease, hypertension, prostate disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, and orthopedic disabilities.

The Board has granted service connection for left shoulder and low back disabilities, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not related to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for a back condition, finding that the Veteran's congenital scoliosis and kyphosis were not aggravated during service and there was no superimposed injury or disease. The Board also found that her osteoporosis, degenerative arthritis, strain, and intervertebral disc syndrome did not manifest due to service.,The Board denied service connection for a neck condition, finding that the Veteran's neck pain did not begin during service and there was no evidence of aggravation by service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for lumbar radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities due to a lack of analysis regarding subjective terms of degree, as well as conflicting evidence on whether his symptoms are due to service-connected conditions or other causes.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate medical opinions and failure to verify all periods of active service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and a separate rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy due to new evidence indicating worsening symptoms since the last examination.

The Veteran's low back pain with degenerative arthritis and degenerative joint disease status post discectomy and L4/5 foraminotomy have been granted disability ratings, with the most recent rating of 40 percent effective from October 1, 2015.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD, a lumbosacral spine disability, a right ankle disability, and bilateral knee disabilities due to the lack of evidence supporting an in-service stressor or injury related to these conditions.,Service connection was also denied for radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities.