Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2025

The Board granted service connection for vertebral fractures at L3, L4, and L5, lumbar degenerative arthritis, lumbosacral strain, and lumbar IVDS but denied an effective date prior to August 10, 2022, for the award of service connection for chronic kidney disease.

The Board granted an effective date of September 23, 2021, for the award of a 40 percent rating for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability and a 10 percent rating for his right lower extremity femoral radiculopathy.

The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve as secondary to the Veteran's intervertebral disc syndrome and denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board also granted a 50 percent rating for migraine headaches throughout the period on appeal.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various joint disabilities, including arthritis, to obtain additional evidence and a more thorough examination.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and active service.

The Board remands the matter for further development and to provide additional reasons and bases in its weighing of the information contained within the examination reports of record.

The Board remands the case for additional development, including a new medical opinion to address neurological abnormalities and the impact of medication on the severity of the Veteran's back disability.

The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The issues of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) and service connection for a lung disability were remanded.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability and bilateral hip disabilities as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by the Veteran's military service.

The Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for a back disability and an effective date earlier than May 12, 2024 for the assignment of service connection for a back disability. The claim for TDIU was remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Board denied increased ratings for tension headaches with migraine variants and lumbosacral strain with retrolisthesis, compression fracture L1 and degenerative disc disease, but granted a 20 percent rating for left ankle tendonitis status post fracture. The Board also granted service connection for a left knee disorder as secondary to the service-connected conditions and for gastroesophageal reflux disease and cervical spine disorder.

The Board denied a rating higher than 20 percent for the lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability and a 100 percent rating for PTSD.

The Board denied service connection for a chronic lumbar spine disorder as there was no evidence of a causal relationship between the current disability and an in-service injury, and no continuity of symptomatology since service.

The Board granted a 70 percent disability rating for the veteran's unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress and alcohol use disorder, while denying earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.

The Board denied service connection for thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease, and found that new and relevant evidence had not been received to readjudicate the claims for left and right lower extremity stent placements in femoral arteries.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased rating and earlier effective date for a lumbosacral strain, service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and service connection for migraines (chronic headaches).

The Board granted service connection for a lower back disability, to include lumbosacral strain and lumbar spine disc degeneration at L3-L4 and L5-S1 with associated low back pain, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus as secondary to the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss.

The Board granted service connection for bruxism, a lumbosacral strain, a left shoulder strain, and bilateral blepharitis but denied service connection for hypertension, hearing loss, a neck strain, costochondritis, and a right shoulder sprain.

The Board granted service connection for a skin disorder, left foot disability, left knee disability, and lumbar spine disability but dismissed the appeal for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity and denied it for the right lower extremity.