Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2026

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for right shoulder, back, and neck conditions due to a lack of STRs and an inadequate medical opinion.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar degenerative disc disease and left knee patellar chondromalacia with enthesophyte formation at the quadratus femoris tendon due to inadequate VA examination reports. The Veteran will be scheduled for further examinations.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for a new VA medical opinion due to an inadequate previous opinion regarding the Veteran's lower back disability.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claim for service connection of septal infarct due to her withdrawal request during a hearing. The remaining issues regarding cervical spine condition, lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, and left lower extremity radiculopathy are remanded.

The Veteran's prescribed topical skin medication, triamcinolone cream, caused irreparable damage to his clothing and the Board granted a clothing allowance for 2020 based on this.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and he is granted a TDIU with an effective date of January 31, 2019.

The Veteran's service connection claims for right and left knee degenerative arthritis, lumbar spine stenosis and DDD, left lower extremity radiculopathy, left shoulder bicipital tendonitis, cervical spine DDD, stenosis and facet arthropathy, and left upper extremity radiculopathy have all been granted. The claims are based on direct service connection.

The appeal of the denial of entitlement to service connection for a back condition is dismissed. The claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral pes planus, left knee condition, and right knee condition are remanded.

The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbosacral strain was denied.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy was also denied.

The Board has granted the appellant's request for an earlier effective date of September 26, 2021 for the award of service connection for ischemic heart disease. The lumbar disability claim is remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist error.

The Board has determined that the decision denying eligibility for PCAFC was not legally adequate due to an insufficient medical opinion, and therefore remanded the case.

Your appeal for service connection of a back disorder has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The Board cannot issue a decision on this matter as it is no longer pending.

The Veteran's TDIU and DEA eligibility are granted effective August 6, 2009. The effective date is based on the establishment of unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for unspecified neck and back conditions due to duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining missing military personnel records and VA medical opinions.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, finding that his current condition is related to his military service and considering all submitted evidence. The decision also grants readjudication of the back condition claim.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone did not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment, and the Board denied his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, but remanded the issue of service connection for a lumbar spine disability.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for low back disabilities and radiating pain/radiculopathies of the lower extremities, finding that these conditions had their onset in service.

The Veteran's degenerative arthritis, intervertebral disc syndrome, lumbar spine and left sciatic nerve radiculopathy and pain are granted service connection. The right sciatic nerve radiculopathy and pain is also granted service connection. Service connection for the cervical spine condition is denied.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, Type II is being remanded for a medical opinion to determine if it is at least as likely as not caused by or related to his service. ,The Veteran's low back disability is also being remanded for a medical opinion to determine if it is at least as likely as not caused by or related to his service.