Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2026

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left wrist disability, right wrist disability, low back disability, vertigo, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are dismissed because the Veteran did not timely file a notice of disagreement. The claim for dental caps is denied as there is no current evidence of a dental disability.

The Veteran's TDIU claim from October 16, 2009 is granted.,The initial rating claims for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and spinal stenosis are dismissed as moot due to the grant of a TDIU.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to duty-to-assist errors and a need for additional medical opinions.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for both a low back disability and right leg radiculopathy has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding personal care services and supervision needed by the Veteran for eligibility in the PCAFC program.

The Veteran's service connection claim for degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine is granted, as his back disability had its onset in active military service.

The Veteran's bilateral hip strain, right knee sprain, left knee sprain, right leg shin splints, and left leg shin splints with lumbar spine strain are all found to have onset during service. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are remanded for additional development.

The Veteran withdrew all service connection claims for various conditions, including arthritis of the lower extremities, cervical spine disability, low back disability, bilateral eye disability, heart disability, hypertension, kidney disability, insomnia, and psychiatric disability. The Board dismissed these appeals as a result.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional records and a VA examination.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to an error in calculating the recoupment of separation pay from the Veteran's VA disability compensation payments. The AOJ needs to conduct a paid and due audit to determine the proper amount of recoupment.

Service connection is granted for low back and neck disabilities, but denied for eye contusion, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), conjunctivitis, left shoulder disability, and left ring finger disability.,The Veteran's current diagnoses of low back and cervical spine DDD are presumed service connected due to continuity of symptoms since service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error and will need to provide a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's low back disability had onset in service or is otherwise caused by his military service.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral flatfoot and GERD have been dismissed as they are not addressed in the rating decisions on appeal.,The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for allergic rhinitis has been denied, with a current 10% rating assigned.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability for each of his claimed orthopedic conditions, and there is no evidence to support a finding that any such disabilities are related to service.,Service connection was denied for all of the Veteran's orthopedic complaints as they were not shown to be related to service.

The Board has determined that the AOJ's decision to disenroll the Veteran from the PCAFC program was not supported by adequate and sufficient evidence, and thus remanded for further development and consideration.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back condition, rhinitis, diverticulitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors. The AOJ is required to obtain medical opinions on these issues.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and TDIU is being remanded due to the need for a retrospective medical opinion, obtaining additional records, and providing another VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to issues related to an evaluation for a thoracolumbar spine disorder and service connection for a psychiatric disorder, which may be related to the Veteran's service-connected thoracolumbar spine disability. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further development.

Service connection for a skin condition of both hands, right elbow disability, and low back disability has been dismissed.,Effective dates have not been assigned as the issues are being dismissed.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions and further evaluation is needed to determine if the Veteran's DDD with lumbar spinal stenosis status post L4-L5 decompression, fixation, and spinal fusion and L4-L5 laminectomy is due to or aggravated by his service-connected type II diabetes mellitus.