Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board has remanded the claims for a low back disability and scar, status post lumbar discectomy due to duty-to-assist errors. The hemorrhoids claim is also remanded as there are inadequate VA examination reports.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disability, erectile dysfunction (ED), urinary incontinence (UI), left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as there is no competent evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's PTSD, right eye disorder, and lumbar spine disability were denied. The claim for a TDIU was granted.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a right wrist nerve and fingers/forearm disability, chronic headaches, lumbosacral strain, prostate disability, sinusitis, and allergic rhinitis due to outstanding VA treatment records not being associated with the claims file.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus and a back disability as secondary to his service-connected scar, residual of left leg injury. The claim for an initial rating higher than 10 percent for right hip disability is also denied.,Service connection was not granted for tinnitus because there is no evidence that it began in service or within the one-year presumptive period after service. The Board found that the Veteran's current tinnitus is more likely related to his non-service-connected bilateral hearing loss.,Regarding the back disability, the Board determined that it is less likely than not secondary to the service-connected left leg injury. The examiner noted that there was no indication of permanent neurological damage from the left leg injury and that the back disability began several decades after the left leg injury.

The Veteran's prostate cancer was denied service connection as it manifested more than one year after separation and is not shown to be causally related to an in-service injury or disease. The claims for psychiatric, heart, cervical spine, low back, bilateral shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, ankle, and foot disabilities are remanded due to the failure to obtain examinations and opinions concerning their etiology.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was granted. The rating for his chronic lumbosacral strain was reduced from 20% to 10%, but the Board found this reduction improper and restored the original 20% rating.

The Board has granted service connection for a low back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that the Veteran's current disabilities are related to his military service.

Effective dates of March 1, 2013, have been granted for the awards of service connection for impairment of left muscle groups II, III, and IV.,No effective date earlier than May 26, 2017, has been granted for the awards of service connection for right shoulder osteoarthritis, lumbar degenerative disc disease, or bilateral lower extremity sciatic nerve dysfunction.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of sufficient medical evidence to support the claim for service connection for back condition. The Veteran's active duty injury and current diagnosis are recognized, but further examination is needed to determine if there is a link between the in-service injury and the current condition.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for cervical spine, low back, right knee, left knee, and hypertension disabilities due to incomplete development of records and need for additional examinations.

The Veteran's blood clot of the right leg, liver disability, and hip disabilities have been granted service connection. The Veteran is also receiving a non-compensable rating for his lumbar spine disability.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease and sciatic nerve radiculopathy were granted, with the exception of a remand for further evaluation. The Veteran was also granted TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for eye disability, lumbar spine disability, left elbow disability, and bilateral ankle disability. The reasons included lack of evidence linking these disabilities to service or post-service treatment.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the addition of new evidence. The issues include lumbar spine IVDS with degenerative arthritis, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity.

The Veteran's initial claim for higher ratings for his service-connected lumbosacral strain, migraine headaches, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, and radiculopathy of sciatic nerve was denied. The Veteran is currently rated at 20 percent for lumbosacral strain prior to January 27, 2020 and at 40 percent thereafter.,The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for his service-connected migraine headaches was granted with an initial 50 percent rating from January 3, 2013. The Veteran is currently rated at 50 percent for this condition.

The Veteran's disabilities are rated at 100 percent combined, but the Board finds that he does not meet the threshold requirement for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to his multiple service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbosacral spine, left and right lower extremity radiculopathies are being remanded due to the need for further development.,No effective date is assigned as the preponderance of the evidence does not support an earlier diagnosis.

The claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disability is remanded due to the upgrade of the character of discharge from under other than honorable conditions to general, under honorable conditions by the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR).

The Board has remanded several claims due to the need for additional consideration of new VA treatment records and readjudication in an SSOC.