Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claims for service connection for peripheral vascular disease, low back condition, left hip condition, and right hip condition as further development is needed.

The appeal pertaining to a proposed reduction of the evaluation of thoracic and lumbosacral strain, degenerative disc disease, IVDS, and retrolisthesis from 20 percent to 10 percent is dismissed because it was not an adverse action.

The Board denied service connection for an abdominal pain disability and a back disability, finding no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service or his service-connected left foot disability.

The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including left knee pain, right knee pain, low back pain, sleep apnea, sinusitis, and eye allergies. The initial rating for allergic rhinitis was also denied.

The Board remands the matter for additional development, specifically to obtain a retrospective opinion addressing the additional loss of range of motion present during the Veteran's reported flare-ups at the time of certain VA examinations and whether his range of motions would be further reduced if not for medications taken at the time of such examinations.

The Veteran's service-connected thoracic spine strain was granted a rating of 20 percent for the period prior to January 29, 2024, but denied a higher rating from that date. The claims for service connection for lumbosacral and sciatic nerve disorders were remanded.

The appeal is dismissed due to the Veteran's death in February 2025.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral flatfoot, back condition, and obstructive sleep apnea to obtain additional evidence.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's intervertebral disc syndrome, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, and bilateral knee degenerative arthritis, as well as left ankle strain.

The Board denied service connection for cervical spine disability and remanded claims for mental health, low back, and right lower extremity nerve disabilities due to inadequate evidence.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar degenerative disc disease with lumbar disc microdiscectomy L5-S1 and remanded the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability.

The Board remands the claim to ensure that the Veteran is provided adequate notice and an opportunity to respond to a jurisdictional defect regarding the timeliness of his NOD.

The Board granted service connection for a back condition and a neck condition, finding that these conditions are etiologically related to the Veteran's active military service.

The Board remands the claims for a right knee disorder, lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with spinal stenosis, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a neck disorder and back disorder as secondary to a left knee condition due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board denied service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine as there is no evidence that it began during active service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) from January 25, 2024.

The Board granted a 10 percent rating for GERD and denied service connection for sleep apnea, while dismissing the appeals for PTSD, BHL, and left knee condition as untimely. The other claims were remanded.

The Board granted an effective date of August 24, 2021, for a 70 percent rating for major depressive disorder with anxious distress and denied initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for left knee strain, right knee strain, and lumbosacral strain.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a low back disability and facial scars to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.