Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2023

The Veteran meets the schedular percentage requirements for Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) due to his service-connected lumbar spine disability and bilateral radiculopathy. The Board finds that the functional impairment resulting from these disabilities at least as likely as not prevents him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied service connection for a right hip condition, right knee condition, and left knee condition. Service connection was granted for bilateral pes planus.,Service connection for a back condition was not established.

The Board has withdrawn the claim of entitlement to service connection for a neck disability. The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is granted as service connected, with the issue remanded for additional development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to April 29, 2016, for service connection of generalized anxiety disorder, tinnitus, back condition, and tension/migraine headaches due to a lack of evidence showing VA received her claim before that date.

The Board has added new evidence to the claims file and finds it relevant for remanding the case. The Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disability is being returned to the RO for further review.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for back disability has been granted. The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded.

The Veteran's bilateral pes planus and acquired pes cavus were granted a 50 percent rating effective April 28, 2017. The claims for service connection for tinnitus, headaches, diabetes mellitus type II, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, hypertension, sleep disability, vision loss, and right shoulder disability are all remanded.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding his radiculopathy conditions.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back condition, right knee condition, and right arm nerve damage due to potential service connection issues.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for headaches, low back disability, and sleep apnea due to incomplete service treatment records and insufficient evidence regarding the onset or etiology of these conditions. The Veteran is requested to undergo VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation prior to May 25, 2017.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for heart condition, low back condition, and bilateral hearing loss due to procedural errors in previous decisions.

The Board has remanded the claims due to a failure to address a February 2014 deferred rating decision and potential VA treatment records from various facilities. The Veteran's service personnel records have been added, but further development is needed.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received sufficient to reopen the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability, status post meniscus repair. The claims for service connection for intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) with degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the lumbar spine and left lower extremity radiculopathy are remanded due to inextricable ties to the Veteran's back condition.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral knee and lumbosacral spine disabilities due to insufficient medical nexus opinions. The Veteran is expected to provide updated treatment records, and addendum opinions are needed regarding the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for back and right knee conditions have been reopened, but the Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to decide these claims.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for back, right hip, and right knee conditions due to insufficient evidence of record.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, but dismissed the appeals for degenerative arthritis of the thoracic and lumbar spine and diabetes mellitus. The appeal for Parkinson's disease is remanded to obtain a medical opinion regarding its relationship to service-connected PTSD.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability, back condition (claimed as secondary to right knee disability), and neck condition (claimed as secondary to right knee disability) due to lack of evidence showing that these conditions began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus has been granted. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, left foot bone sprain, residuals of a left foot ganglion cyst removal, depressive disorder other than PTSD, low back disorder, sinusitis, radiating right lower extremity pain, sleep disorder (to include sleep apnea), and migraine headaches have all been remanded due to the need for additional development.