Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Veteran meets the schedular criteria for TDIU prior to September 1, 2018, due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hip disability, right hip disability, left hip disability, and right leg shortening due to secondary to service-connected low back disability.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for psychiatric disorders, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, right leg disability, and pulmonary embolism due to inconsistencies in reported stressors and conflicting medical opinions. Additional development is needed to verify a specific suicide stressor and obtain new nexus opinions.

The Veteran's petition to reopen his service connection claim for back conditions is granted. The Board finds that the evidence received since the January 1985 rating decision raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims, and thus grants the petition. However, the case is remanded due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's current back conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims for a low back, left shoulder, and right shoulder disabilities as secondary to service-connected cervical spine disability due to additional evidence being added to the record.

The Veteran's appeal is REMANDED for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and scheduling the Veteran for appropriate VA examinations to assess his orthopedic conditions. The TDIU claim will also be referred to the Director, Compensation Service, for extraschedular consideration.

The Veteran's application to reopen claims for service connection for back disability, dental disability for compensation purposes, tinnitus (secondary to headaches and status post cerebral concussion), higher ratings for headaches and status post cerebral concussion, and TDIU due to service-connected disabilities has been remanded. The VA is required to obtain additional treatment records and schedule the Veteran for examinations to determine the current severity of his service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's claim of increased rating for a left knee disability is denied as he withdrew his appeal without good cause. The Board also remanded the issue of TDIU due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including GI disorder, DM, heart disorder, back disorder, kidney disorder, RUE neuropathy, LUE neuropathy, RLE neuropathy, and LLE neuropathy. The Veteran's symptoms were not found to be related to his military service or a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for carpal tunnel syndrome of the right hand and intervertebral disc syndrome with cervical spine degenerative disc disease (claimed as chronic neck pain) due to a lack of adequate medical opinions regarding whether these conditions were aggravated by service.

The Board has granted a 40 percent evaluation for the Veteran's sclerosis of the left sacroiliac joint disability, but has remanded issues related to fecal and urinary incontinence as well as TDIU.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for lumbosacral strain, which is the maximum available under VA regulations.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for chronic thoracolumbar strain was denied as there is no evidence of a prior informal claim before August 31, 2017.,Service connection for left ear hearing loss was granted based on in-service noise exposure and current hearing loss.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and neck disability are remanded due to new evidence received since the last denial of his petition to reopen. The claims will be reviewed again with additional medical opinions.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine condition has been reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. However, the claim remains in remand status as further medical examination is needed to determine if his current disability is related to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation from June 19, 2013, to August 20, 2019. Prior to that date, the criteria for a TDIU rating were not met.

The Veteran's service connection claims for obstructive sleep apnea and a lumbar spine condition are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and assessments of his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable prior to January 11, 2020 and 10 percent thereafter. The Veteran's IBS has not been found to meet the criteria for a rating greater than 10 percent.,Service connection for sleep apnea secondary to service-connected PTSD is remanded.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability is granted as service-connected due to an in-service injury.,Service connection for sleep apnea and a bilateral shoulder disability are remanded.