Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2024

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability is causally related to his service, specifically his combat injuries during active duty. Therefore, service connection for this condition is granted.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on all six issues have been dismissed due to procedural defects in the appeal process.

The Veteran's TDIU and DEA benefits are granted effective February 15, 2012. The Board found the Veteran unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of left hip condition, right shoulder condition, back condition, and left-hand condition. The appeal for service connection of right knee pain is remanded.

The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error, requiring a new VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's back disabilities.

The Veteran's depressive disorder is granted service connection.,The Veteran's GERD is secondary to his depressive disorder and thus also granted service connection.,There is no evidence of a lumbar spine disability in service, and it is denied.,Sleep apnea was not found in service and is also denied.,Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are remanded for further evaluation.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not result in a loss or loss of use of any lower extremity or upper extremity, and thus he does not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder and tinnitus, but granted service connection for HSV. The low back disorder claim was dismissed as moot due to the grant of service connection in a prior decision.

The Veteran's claim for tinnitus is granted as it was incurred in service.,The claims of entitlement to service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy are dismissed as they were already granted in a previous decision.,The claims of entitlement to service connection for lumbar spine disorder, right upper extremity radiculopathy, and left upper extremity radiculopathy are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions.

The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, and loss of use the lower extremities as secondary to prostate cancer due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to military service.

The Board has granted service connection for an upper back condition, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to his active military service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including right lower extremity numbness, left lower extremity numbness, right wrist disability, strain of the left quadriceps, degenerative arthritis of the right hand, a disability of the left foot, low back disability, deformity of the left foot, and right foot plantar fasciitis. The claims are remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 22, 1975, for the grant of service connection for back disability is granted. The appeal to reverse or revise the September 1975 rating decision denying service connection for epiphysitis, L4 with narrowing of disc space based on CUE is dismissed as moot.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss, neck disability, back disability, and tinnitus have been denied. The Board has found that the evidence does not support a finding of in-service incurrence or aggravation of these conditions.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his back disability from February 25, 2020, was denied. The effective date prior to February 25, 2020, for the award of service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy was also denied.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back and right foot disabilities, finding that there was no in-service occurrence or disease that caused these conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's lumbosacral strain. The VA needs to obtain a new medical opinion to address whether the condition is service-connected and if it is aggravated by any service-connected conditions.

Your previously restored 40 percent rating for scoliosis, diffuse degenerative joint disease, and degenerative disc disease lumbar spine is dismissed as moot because the claim has been granted.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for her lumbar spine and bilateral radiculopathy conditions were denied. The rating for the lumbar spine condition remains at 40 percent, while the initial disability ratings for bilateral radiculopathy are denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral knee disability and lumbosacral spine disability, finding that there was no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.