Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2025

The Board granted the Veteran's appeal regarding the timeliness of his substantive appeal and remanded several issues for further development.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability, left knee disability, and lower back disability as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability and obstructive sleep apnea, as the evidence did not support a finding of a nexus between the claimed conditions and the Veteran's active military service.

The Board denied a disability rating greater than 30 percent for the eye condition, granted an increased disability rating of 60 percent for urticaria, and denied initial and increased ratings for cervical spine degenerative changes with neck pain and low back strain.

The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability has been granted a 40 percent rating from October 19, 2012.

The Board denied higher initial ratings for the thoracolumbar spine disability and right ankle disability, granted service connection for an acquired mental disorder as due to a service-connected disability, and dismissed the claim for obstructive sleep apnea.

The Board remands the claims for service connection, TDIU, and SMC due to an inadequate VA opinion regarding the Veteran's lower back disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbar spine disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that there was no evidence to support a direct or secondary relationship between these conditions and his active military service.

The Board granted restoration of a 20 percent disability rating for degenerative disc disease of lumbar spine with intervertebral disc syndrome effective May 22, 2023, and denied increased ratings for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities.

The Board remanded the case for further development to obtain a retrospective medical opinion addressing functional loss during flareups and with repeated use over time prior to June 2021, as the previous opinions did not provide sufficient information regarding the Veteran's functional loss.

The Board denied ratings in excess of 40 percent for the lumbosacral strain, left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy.

The appeal for a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbosacral radiculopathy of the left lower extremity prior to December 24, 2015, and after April 2, 2017, was withdrawn by the Veteran. An initial 40 percent rating for incomplete paralysis of the right lower extremity sciatic nerve is granted.

The Board granted service connection for a gastrointestinal disability as secondary to the Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with thoracic strain.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a low back disorder and obstructive sleep apnea due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board granted earlier effective dates for service connection and SMC, but denied an earlier effective date for DEA benefits.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) remands the service connection claims for a left foot sprain, back disability, and hypertension due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board remands the claim for a back disability to verify the Veteran's period(s) of active duty for training (ACDUTRA), inactive duty for training (IDT), and/or active duty for special work (ADSW) from September 2013 to August 2021, and to obtain a VA examination.

The Board denied service connection for memory loss, a low back disability, an eye disorder, and bilateral hearing loss. Tinnitus was granted, but the Veteran's left wrist scar did not warrant a compensable rating.

The veteran withdrew all claims on appeal, including those for service connection and an earlier effective date for increased ratings.

The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with disc protrusions, and various secondary conditions.