Back / lumbar spine decisions — 2026

The Board dismissed the appeal due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appealed issues before VA.

The Board denied service connection for right lower leg and left lower leg peripheral neuropathy, finding that the Veteran's conditions were not incurred or caused by his military service.,Service connection was also denied for a lumbar spine disorder due to lack of evidence showing it was related to service.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent effective March 12, 2003. The rating remains unchanged for the right and left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine from April 13, 2015 to January 7, 2019.

The Veteran's right shoulder tendonitis is rated at 20 percent from February 6, 2017. The rating for thoracolumbar spine intervertebral disc syndrome remains at 40 percent prior to September 22, 2025 and in excess of 40 percent thereafter.

The Veteran's service-connected back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right shoulder disability are all rated at the highest possible initial rating of 40 percent.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for addendum opinions due to inadequate previous medical opinions. The issues include service connection for colon disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, and lumbar spine disability.

The Veteran's right ankle arthritis is presumed to be related to service. The Veteran's bilateral hand arthritis, thoracic anterior wedge compression fracture, lumbar spine disability, right leg radiculopathy, left leg radiculopathy, kidney stones, endocarditis, and Parkinson's disease are not granted as service-connected.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as he does not have a current disability.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD remains pending and requires further development to verify the stressors reported during service.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for low back, left knee, right ankle, kidney, and heart disabilities are remanded for additional medical opinions.,No specific exposure basis is provided in this decision.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability, including osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine. The Board found that there was no evidence to support direct service connection but established continuity and chronicity under VA regulations.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to incomplete records and inadequate VA opinions. The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disorder, psychiatric disorder (including PTSD), and hypertension are all being reviewed.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to the AOJ's failure to comply with prior remand directives.

The Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is granted an increased rating to 40 percent effective December 15, 2021. Service connection for high blood pressure and TDIU are also granted.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating and TDIU related to lumbar spine degenerative arthritis is being remanded due to the need for a thorough VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates were denied. The assigned evaluations for cervical spine degenerative disc disease, bilateral knee meniscal tears with degenerative arthritis (limitation of flexion), right knee meniscal tear with degenerative arthritis, bilateral knee meniscal tears with degenerative arthritis (limitation of extension), residuals of cold injury of the bilateral hands with multi-joint disease and paresthesias, and posttraumatic stress disorder were all denied.,For PTSD, the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date was granted but his evaluation remained at 50 percent disabling prior to March 14, 2025, and increased to 70 percent thereafter.

The Veteran's claims for initial disability ratings of 40 percent for left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy and 30 percent for left lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy from July 16, 2006 have been granted.

The Board has granted a TDIU from February 20, 2003 due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's cervical spine degenerative disc disease is rated at 30 percent prior to October 6, 2022. From October 6, 2022, a higher rating of over 30 percent is denied.

The Veteran's right and left leg radiculopathy are granted with a 10 percent rating effective February 1, 2009. TDIU is also granted.

The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for his lumbosacral strain is being remanded due to the need for an adequate medical opinion addressing the severity of his condition without considering the ameliorative effects of medication and whether his reports of sudden muscle spasms during flare-ups constitute ankylosis.