Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board has denied service connection for a left hand disability, right ear hearing loss, and several other conditions. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings have also been denied.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back condition, left and right lower extremity sciatic nerve conditions, bilateral foot conditions, and bilateral knee conditions. The issues of service connection for a sinus condition and bilateral hearing loss have been withdrawn by the Veteran.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back disability. The claims for secondary service connection for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy associated with the low back disability are remanded due to a lack of opinion regarding these issues.

The Board has determined that there are pre-decisional errors in the duty to assist and remands the case for further action, including obtaining signed informed consent forms and a new medical opinion.

The Board has remanded the case due to errors in duty to assist and for additional medical opinions regarding service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for further evaluation and determination of service connection for kidney stones, which were not addressed in the original decision.

The Board has remanded the case due to errors in obtaining necessary medical records and verifying service dates. The Veteran's low back disability is being reviewed for service connection.

An effective date of March 16, 2007 for the grant of service connection for migraine headaches is granted.,Effective dates of February 24, 2009 and February 19, 2009 are granted for the grants of service connection for lumbar radiculopathy involving the femoral nerve in both lower extremities.

The Board has remanded the service connection claims for migraine headache, left wrist, right wrist, and right knee disabilities due to insufficient evidence. The Veteran's back disability claim is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or in-service injury.,The compensable rating claim for acne remains denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for a 10% or higher rating.

The Veteran's claim for service connection and TDIU was granted, with effective dates of September 8, 2010 for the low back disability and October 3, 2014 for TDIU.

The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection due to duty assist errors. The issues of antecedent granulomatous disease, lumbar and thoracic spondylosis and strain, left knee degenerative joint disease, right knee degenerative joint disease, tremors, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy are all remanded for further development.

The Board has granted service connection for lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, but the AOJ must implement the initial ratings of these conditions. The AOJ is also remanded to schedule a VA examination to assess eligibility for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on housebound status due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disability, back disability, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and bilateral cataracts.,There is no evidence of any in-service injury or disease related to the claimed conditions.

The Board has denied service connection for lumbar spine disability and right shoulder condition as there is no evidence of current disabilities or a relationship to service.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain is rated at 40 percent from April 25, 2013 to March 12, 2019. From March 12, 2019 onwards, the rating for lumbosacral strain is denied. The left lower extremity radiculopathy is rated at 10 percent effective from March 12, 2019.

The Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder is granted as secondary to his service-connected lumbar spondylosis, L5-S1 neural foraminal stenosis with IVDS. The Veteran's lumbar spondylosis is rated at 20 percent due to the presence of functional loss and pain during range of motion testing.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for a left knee disability and a back disability due to insufficient evidence regarding service connection. The appellant's service records indicate possible active duty status on April 17, 1991, but this needs verification. VA examinations are also needed to determine if these conditions are related to service.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his low back disability is denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine being 30 degrees or less, favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine, or IVDS with incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 4 weeks but less than 6 weeks during the past 12 months. The Veteran's service connection claims for sciatica and right knee disability were also denied.

The Board has found a pre-decisional duty to assist error and remands the case for a retrospective medical opinion to determine the severity of the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability prior to September 1, 2020.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for lower back pain, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise that the condition began during active service and continues to this day.