Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2025

The Board granted service connection for right hand tremors as a manifestation of tardive dyskinesia and carotidynia due to enlarged lymph nodes, while denying service connection for other conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, gastritis, gastric ulcer, submandibular scar, bone spurs of the feet, low back disorder, plantar fasciitis, enlarged right testicle, and cyst on the back.

The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis and dismissed the appeal for service connection for a left knee disability.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease to clarify the Veteran's qualifying service dates.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral flat feet, low back disability, left wrist disorder, and GERD. The Board also remanded claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder and TDIU.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded several claims, including those for back disability, left wrist disability, and others.

The Board remands the claim for a VA opinion to address the nature and etiology of the claimed back disability.

The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including back, knee, foot, and ankle conditions, as well as TBI, neurological disorder, sleep apnea, respiratory complaints, asthma, GERD, anxiety, PTSD, and other related conditions. The Board also granted an initial 10 percent rating for left hip strain with painful limited extension and denied a compensable rating for the same condition.

The Board denied service connection for a left hip disorder, back disorder, and acquired psychiatric disorder as the evidence did not support that these conditions were incurred in or otherwise related to the Veteran's service.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, left shoulder, and head injury disabilities to ensure proper development of the evidentiary record.

The Board remands the claim for an additional opinion as the previous VA examination is found to be inadequate.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a back condition, right knee degenerative arthritis, and left knee degenerative arthritis due to an inadequate medical opinion.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbar degenerative disc disease, and entitlement to TDIU due to inadequate examinations and the need for additional evidence.

The Board denied the claims for increased ratings for lumbar spine DJD, left knee disability based on limitation of extension, and right knee disability based on limitation of extension.

The Board granted service connection for a left shoulder disability, but remanded the claims for back, neck, left foot, right foot, and left arm disabilities.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent prior to December 21, 2022, and in excess of 40 percent thereafter for the Veteran's back disability and also denied a separate rating for right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy.

The Board remands the matters for further development, specifically to obtain the Veteran's complete VA treatment records since February 2017.

The Board remands the claims for increased ratings for sinusitis with headaches and lumbar degenerative changes with herniated L5-S1 disc to ensure all necessary development is completed, including any additionally indicated development, such as obtaining outstanding medical records or addendum opinions.

The Board denied a rating greater than 30 percent for the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder with unspecified anxiety disorder and remanded claims for service connection for low back pain and sleep apnea.

The Board denied several claims for service connection and higher ratings, granted service connection for a right knee disability and a right wrist disability as secondary to the service-connected right little finger, fifth metacarpal, degenerative arthritis, and remanded other claims.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded claims for service connection for various other disorders, including left wrist, right knee, left knee, cervical spine, upper extremity neurological, thoracolumbar spine, left foot, right foot, left ankle, and right ankle disorders.