Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2024

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of adequate opinion regarding the severity of the Veteran's low back disability during the entire period under consideration, January 2008 to December 2020. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion from a medical examiner.

The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for a lumbar spine condition, left knee condition, left ankle condition, and right ankle condition as they were found to be duplicative appeals. The claim for a neck condition was remanded for further development.

The Board granted service connection for a lumbar strain, finding that the Veteran's condition is related to his military service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine condition, lower left extremity sciatica, acquired psychiatric disorder (to include depression and anxiety), erectile dysfunction, and hypertension. The evidence does not support a finding that any of these conditions began during or are otherwise related to active service.

The Veteran's effective date for the award of service connection for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity is granted as November 12, 2014.,The Veteran's appeal regarding a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to March 6, 2017 for the right lower extremity radiculopathy has been dismissed due to a claims processing rule deficiency.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for asthma and a compensable rating for pseudofolliculitis barbae, but remanded claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, headaches, back disorder, and sinus disorder.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and a need for additional evidence. The claims will be reconsidered with consideration of all relevant evidence, including subsequent VA treatment records.

The Board granted service connection for a back disability and increased the ratings for left and right upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome to 60 percent and 50 percent, respectively. The Veteran was also granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including a back condition, hearing loss, tinnitus, diabetes mellitus type 2, and various musculoskeletal disorders. The appeal of the claims for a back condition, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus was dismissed due to untimely notice of disagreement.

The veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection and increased rating, as he has since been awarded 100 percent disability.

The Board granted service connection for a low back disability and cervical spine disability, to include bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and rating of various conditions are being remanded due to insufficient evidence in the record.

The Board granted an effective date of March 22, 2017, for the award of service connection for radiculopathy of both lower extremities but denied increased ratings for these conditions and remanded a claim for a higher rating for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for left hip degenerative arthritis and lumbar degenerative arthritis and scoliosis, as secondary to his service-connected left knee joint osteoarthritis with patellofemoral pain syndrome and right ankle sprain. The VA examiner is requested to provide addendum opinions regarding these claims.

The Board has identified pre-decisional error in the rating decision and has ordered a remand to obtain a VA examination that complies with Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016), for evaluation of the Veteran's service-connected conditions.

The Board remands the case for an adequate examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's lumbar spine disability.

The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee degenerative joint disease.

The appeal for an increased rating for degenerative joint disease, lumbar spine, is dismissed.

The Board has granted service connection for allergic rhinitis, finding it at least likely as not that the Veteran's current condition had onset during service. Service connection was denied for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with IVDS.

The Veteran's claims for service connection of a bilateral shoulder condition, back condition, and nightmares have been denied. The restoration of the 30% rating for GERD with Helicobacter pylori is granted, but the entitlement to a higher rating for GERD is denied. The claim for a compensable rating for bilateral peripheral retinal degeneration is also denied.