Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to March 31, 2016.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbosacral strain as the evidence does not support that it was incurred in or caused by active service.

The Board has remanded the cases due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed low back strain and hearing loss. The VA needs to provide new medical opinions on whether these conditions are related to service.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims due to incomplete records, including missing service treatment and personnel records. The case will be returned for further investigation.

The Board denied service connection for tuberculosis exposure, head injury residuals (including headaches and stitches to eyebrow), back condition, and neck condition. The Veteran's claims were not supported by evidence showing a current disability or a link between the conditions and his military service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) have been remanded.,For the cervical spine DDD, the Board found that an extraschedular rating prior to January 10, 2017 is not warranted. A schedular rating in excess of 40 percent from January 10, 2017 for DDD of the cervical spine has also been denied.,For bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy, a schedular rating in excess of 20 percent from January 10, 2017 has not been met.

The Veteran's degenerative joint/disc disease of the lumbar spine is considered to have started during her military service, and thus she has been granted service connection for this condition.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability and gastrointestinal disorder, but remanded the issue of entitlement to a compensable rating for right lung granuloma.

The Board denied service connection for low back disability, right hip disability, incontinence, sciatic nerve disability, and depression. The Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.,Service connection was denied as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions began during or were caused by service.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for low back and left hip disorders due to a need for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for lumbar and left eye disabilities, finding no causal relationship between these conditions and his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for chronic low back pain, chronic cervical spine pain, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, and tinnitus are denied as there is no evidence of a current disability related to his military service.,Service connection was not granted because the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that any diagnosed conditions began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between his current condition and his military service.

The Veteran is granted TDIU prior to March 9, 2015. The Board finds that referral for extraschedular TDIU under § 4.16(b) is warranted due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for a left foot hammer toe condition is denied as there is no evidence of such a condition during service or related to his service-connected pes planus.,The effective date for the grant of service connection for right inguinal hernia scar cannot be earlier than August 16, 2012 due to lack of prior claim within one year of discharge from service.,The effective date for the grant of service connection for other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder cannot be earlier than August 27, 2012 as there was no prior claim within one year of discharge from service.,Service connection is remanded for a low back condition secondary to pes planus due to lack of medical evidence linking the condition directly to service or to a service-connected disability.,Service connection is also remanded for a bilateral hip condition secondary to pes planus due to lack of medical evidence linking the condition directly to service or to a service-connected disability.,Service connection is also remanded for a bilateral knee condition secondary to pes planus due to lack of medical evidence linking the condition directly to service or to a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the case due to an error in the March 2015 VA examination, which did not sufficiently address whether the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disorder is a congenital defect or disease and if it can improve or deteriorate. The examiner must provide additional opinions on these points.

The Veteran's claim for hypertension was dismissed as he withdrew his appeal. The Board remanded cases related to back disability, lung disorder, ischemic heart disease, liver disorder, hemorrhoids, and epididymitis of the testicles.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a new VA examination to determine if there is any relationship between the Veteran's cervical spine disorder and his service. The TDIU claim was also remanded due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disability, sleep apnea, skin disability, and seizure disorder. The evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection or any form of presumptive service connection.

The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disorder is granted as service connected, with the Board finding it etiologically related to his in-service injury.