Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claims for service connection for headaches, back disability, and PTSD due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology.

The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for various disabilities due to untimely and improper Notice of Disagreement submissions.

The Board denied the Veteran's request for readjudication of his claim for service connection for a low back disability, as new and relevant evidence had not been submitted since the last decision in April 2023.

The Board granted service connection for a back condition, finding it to be related to the Veteran's already service-connected left hip strain.

The Board denied service connection for back condition, depression and memory loss, and migraine disability but granted service connection for a left hip disability based on in-service onset.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for Meniere's Disease, a back disability, and bilateral wrist tendonitis to obtain additional VA opinions.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a lower back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a rating higher than 10 percent for lumbosacral strain, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board granted service connection for bruxism and migraine/ headaches as secondary to a service-connected mental disorder, but dismissed the claims for degenerative arthritis lumbar spine with strain (back condition) and vertigo due to procedural issues. The claim for tinnitus was denied.

The Veteran was granted an initial 40 percent rating for a left knee disability, but the appeal for increased ratings and service connection for other conditions was either dismissed or remanded.

The Board denied earlier effective dates and higher initial ratings for the service-connected conditions of degenerative disc disease, sciatic nerve radiculopathy in both lower extremities, and remanded a claim for total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease, and service connection for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the back disability due to inadequate examination reports.

The Board granted service connection for tongue ulcer and denied an increased initial rating in excess of 30 percent for bronchial asthma with bronchitis. The claims for higher ratings for lumbosacral strain, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy were remanded.

The Board granted service connection for right and left lower extremity radiculopathies as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected degenerative changes of the lower lumbar spine, but denied service connection for a hematoma of the forehead region, residuals of testicular torsion, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea. The Board also granted an initial 50 percent rating for degenerative changes of the lower lumbar spine.

The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for various conditions due to a violation of the prohibition against concurrent election.

The Board denied service connection for left hip pain and low back pain as the weight of evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board granted a 60 percent evaluation for the service-connected lumbar disability based on IVDS with incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 6 weeks during the past 12 months.

The Board granted service connection for left leg pain and numbness, right leg pain and numbness, and a lumbar back disability, all based on the evidence being at least evenly balanced as to whether these conditions had their onset in active service.

The Board denied the veteran's attempts to appeal rating decisions due to untimeliness of the appeals.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease, finding no evidence of a nexus between the condition and his military service.