Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2024

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar spine disability and left lower extremity radiculopathy are being remanded due to the need for additional examination and opinion regarding the extent of functional loss.

The Board has readjudicated the claims for service connection for sleep apnea, but denied the claims for service connection for respiratory problems (rhinitis and sinusitis), headaches, a foot condition, and a back condition.,Service connection was granted for sleep apnea, but the other issues remain denied.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left knee disability, right ankle strain, and lumbosacral strain on a direct basis. The decision is based on credible lay evidence rather than complete medical opinions.

The Board has granted an effective date of January 22, 2020 for the award of service connection for lumbosacral strain and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy. The Veteran's claims were previously denied in March 2017 but reopened in October 2016. The Board found that the evidence supported a finding of disability prior to January 22, 2020.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinion and a failure to consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding his neck pain.

The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error, requiring an addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's low back disability. The issues include determining if the condition is congenital or acquired during service and whether it was aggravated by service.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal. The Board cannot issue a decision on the underlying claims at this time.

The Veteran's claims for service connection on multiple conditions are being remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and duty-to-assist errors.

Your appeal has been dismissed because the VA Form 10182 received on April 20, 2022 is a duplicate of an earlier form submitted on April 12, 2022. The issues you raised are identical to those in your previous appeal.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for right knee strain, left knee strain, lumbosacral strain, and left hip strain due to duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran's claims are being remanded to obtain adequate medical opinions regarding whether his lumbar spine, bilateral knee, and left hip disabilities are caused or aggravated by his service-connected pes planus and bilateral ankle disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment, and the Board denies his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for a spine disorder and an eye disorder due to inadequate medical opinions regarding their etiology. The AOJ will consider any evidence submitted during the higher-level review process.

The reduction of the disability rating for lumbosacral strain with myofascial pain syndrome was not proper, and a 20 percent rating is restored. The issue of service connection for cervical degenerative disc disease with radiculopathy (claimed as neck pain) requires further examination.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for migraine headaches was denied.,The reduction of the Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative joint disease with intervertebral disc syndrome from 20 to 10 percent was granted and restored.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected mechanical lumbar spine strain status post lumbar disc arthroplasty with degenerative arthritis is denied.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of a 40 percent rating for his service-connected mechanical lumbar spine strain status post lumbar disc arthroplasty with degenerative arthritis is also denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar spine and bilateral hip disabilities were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating than 20 percent for the lumbar spine disability, and separate compensable ratings (10 percent) were assigned for each hip strain.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, and will require VA medical examinations to assess the nature and etiology of his back condition, neck condition, and psychiatric disorder.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for his lumbosacral strain and PTSD with depression evaluations, finding that there was no increase in severity of these conditions within one year prior to June 1, 2016.

The Veteran's initial ratings for degenerative arthritis with other intervertebral disc displacement of the lumbosacral region, LLE radiculopathy affecting the femoral nerve, and LLE paresthesia meralgia have been denied as they do not meet the criteria for higher ratings under VA rating criteria.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date and a higher rating for his service-connected lumbar spine disability, finding that the earliest evidence of left lower extremity radiculopathy was on April 28, 2021. The appeal for these issues is dismissed as it was improperly docketed in a separate appeals stream.