Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various musculoskeletal conditions due to a lack of evidence and the unavailability of the Veteran's service treatment records.

The appeal of entitlement to service connection for a low back condition was dismissed due to an improper concurrent election of review.

The appeal for service connection for a lower back disability was dismissed due to the untimely submission of the Notice of Disagreement.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain, radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, right and left ankle conditions, and irritable bowel syndrome were granted with increased ratings effective March 29, 2020.

The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical strain, lumbosacral and thoracic strain, and traumatic brain injury.

The Board granted increased ratings for migraines and GERD, but dismissed the appeals related to other issues due to untimeliness.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for right knee, left knee, and back disorders to obtain additional medical opinions due to inadequate previous VA medical opinions.

The Board granted an effective date of August 28, 2017, for the award of service connection for a depressive disorder and July 26, 2019, for the award of service connection for scar status post lumbar spine surgery.

The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, but denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, and depressive disorder. However, it granted a total disability rating based on unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation at the housebound rate.

The Board remands the claim for a low back disability to correct pre-decisional errors, including an inadequate VA medical opinion and missing private treatment records.

The veteran was granted a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective August 7, 2023, and the Board remanded issues related to increased evaluations for degenerative arthritis of the spine and TDIU prior to January 30, 2017.

The Board remands the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for thoracolumbar small disc protrusion, with intervertebral disc syndrome, disc bulge at L3-L4 and L4-L5 and degenerative disc disease, and left sciatic radiculopathy due to a need for additional evidence.

The Board granted service connection for back disability, right knee disability, and neck disability. The claim for psoriasis was dismissed.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date and a higher initial rating, granting only a 40 percent evaluation for his lumbar spine disability.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability and a respiratory disability due to the lack of evidence supporting current disabilities related to the Veteran's active duty service.

The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right lower extremity (RLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy from March 1, 2020, to August 4, 2020, and denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis with stenosis during the same period. The Board also denied other claims including service connection for residuals of head injury, traumatic brain injury (TBI), an initial compensable rating for posterior trunk scar, and effective dates prior to November 1, 2020, for separate ratings for sciatic and femoral nerve radiculopathies.

The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for service connection and increased ratings for various conditions, except for an earlier effective date of November 10, 2020, for service connection for GERD.