Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2024

The Veteran's claims for service connection of chronic prostatitis and a low back disability were granted with effective dates of July 22, 2020 and August 11, 2020 respectively. The Board found that the earliest proper effective dates are those assigned as these claims were reopened after final disallowance.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for lumbosacral strain and degenerative disc disease, as well as a neck condition. The VA will obtain additional medical records and schedule the Veteran for examinations to determine if his conditions are related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for a low back disability due to errors in the duty to assist and an inaccurate factual premise used by the previous VA medical opinions. The Veteran is requested to provide an additional VA medical opinion.

The Board has granted an effective date of November 7, 2018 for Total Disability Rating for Individual Unemployability (TDIU) and Eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance under 38 U.S.C. chapter 35 (DEA). The Veteran was not in receipt of a total service-connected disability prior to this date.

The Board has granted service connection for a lower back disability and bilateral sciatica, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeals for increased disability ratings have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeals.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his low back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and low back scar is denied. The TDIU claim is also denied.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back disorder, left lower extremity radiculopathy, left shoulder disorder, and right knee disorder due to a lack of current diagnoses and credible reports of in-service onset of symptoms.

The Veteran's left ankle deltoid ligament sprain has been granted a 20 percent disability evaluation, and no more. The cervical spine disorder and related issues have been remanded for further examination and determination.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete VA examinations and inextricably intertwined issues. The Veteran is required to undergo a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any back disabilities, including sciatica as secondary to a back disability.

Your appeal seeking service connection for cervical spine, low back, and left shoulder disorders has been dismissed. The Board found that this was a duplicate appeal of the same rating decision.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left knee, right knee, left ankle, and right ankle conditions. The low back condition was also granted.,Service connection for tinnitus was denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left knee patellofemoral syndrome, chronic low back strain, and a neck injury due to inadequate VA medical opinions addressing direct service connection and secondary service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection due to a final rating decision from September 6, 1967, which found that his conditions were not incurred or aggravated by service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to issues with obtaining relevant records and ensuring duty to assist was fulfilled. The Veteran's lumbar spine disability claim is being returned for further development.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the lower lumbar spine and generalized anxiety disorder, and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's back disability is granted a 40 percent rating, but no higher.

The Board remands the claims for appropriate VA examinations to determine the current severity of the service-connected disabilities, including an estimate of range of motion lost due to pain and flare-ups.

The Board has decided to remand the cases for further development due to inadequate evaluations of the Veteran's service-connected low back strain and COPD with OSA.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient development and need for a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's lumbar spine disorder is related to service or aggravation of a congenital abnormality.