Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2025

The Board denied the claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder due to a lack of new and relevant evidence, and remanded the claim for an increased rating for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine for further development.

The Board granted service connection for a left breast mass condition and denied increased ratings for a trunk scar above the right breast and bilateral hearing loss. Several claims were remanded.

The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder and assigned a 20% disability rating, but denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, bilateral hearing loss, higher ratings for lower extremity radiculopathy, lumbosacral strain, and migraine headaches.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral pes planus and tinnitus, while denying service connection for various other conditions including acne, right wrist disability, back disability, neck disability, left hand disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, right hip disability, left hip disability, migraines headaches, traumatic brain injury (TBI), sinusitis, sleep apnea, and hearing loss.

The Board granted a disability rating of 40 percent for the lumbar spine disability and a separate 10 percent rating for right knee instability, while remanding claims for increased ratings for right and left knee flexion disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for bronchial asthma and denied increased ratings for several disabilities, while granting a 10 percent rating for hypertension.

The Board granted a 10 percent rating for hypertension, but denied higher ratings for scars of the left and right thigh, plantar fasciitis of the left foot, hip and knee osteoarthritis, and service connection for various conditions including erectile dysfunction, lumbar spine pain, TBI, and cervical spine pain.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities to correct duty to assist errors, including obtaining outstanding treatment records and adequate VA medical opinions.

The Board granted service connection for cervical neck condition, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome but dismissed the claim for lumbosacral (low back arthritis) due to a previous favorable decision by the AOJ. The appeal was also denied for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Board granted service connection for GERD and hearing loss, right ear, but denied service connection for lumbar spine pain, radicular pain and paresthesia of the lower extremities, allergic rhinitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, functional abdominal pain syndrome, restless leg syndrome, tremors of the hands, respiratory insufficiency, chronic headaches, left ankle sprain, and right ankle sprain.

The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and arthritis, back condition, peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, and right lower extremity. However, it granted service connection for muscle spasms (RLS) as secondary to a service-connected obstructive sleep apnea.

The appeal for service connection for cervical strain with degenerative disease and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was dismissed as it was not timely filed.

The Board denied service connection for an anxiety disorder, dismissed the claim of entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for a lumbar spine disability, and dismissed whether there has been clear and unmistakable error in establishing service connection for borderline personality disorder with alcohol use disorder.

The Board denied service connection for cervical spine, lumbosacral spine, left lower extremity paresthesia, left upper extremity paresthesia, acquired psychiatric disorder, and headaches as they were not shown to be related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a left foot condition, back condition, and tinnitus due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for eligibility for specially adapted housing, a special home adaptation grant, and financial assistance in purchasing an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment. The claim of CUE in the September 14, 2017, rating decision was also denied.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and granted service connection for right foot metatarsalgia, while remanding the other claims for further development.

The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his service-connected disabilities caused and/or materially contributed to his COPD, which was listed as the immediate cause of death.

The Board granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD and an initial 10 percent rating for a headache disability, while denying ratings in excess of 40 percent for a low back disability and any compensable rating for allergic rhinitis. Service connection was granted for tinnitus and bilateral foot disabilities but denied for other conditions.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and increased rating, but granted restoration of a 40 percent rating for back disability.