Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Veteran withdrew his claims for various disabilities, including those related to the lumbar spine, knees, erectile dysfunction, feet, and a creative organ. The appeals are dismissed as a result.

The Veteran's service connection claims for a cervical spine, lumbar spine, loss of teeth, right foot, and left foot disabilities are all granted. The diagnoses were found to have onset during active service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal, and the Board dismissed it.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development due to missing service personnel and treatment records from a fire at the NPRC. The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disorder will be reviewed again with this new information.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals regarding service connection for a low back condition and sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD.

The Veteran's headaches have been rated as at least 30 percent disabling throughout the appeal period. The Board finds that an initial rating of at least 30 percent is warranted for his service-connected headaches.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disability and balance issues have been denied as there is no evidence of a direct link to his period of active service, or continuity of symptomology since separation from service. The Board also found that the Veteran's balance issues are symptoms of his previously granted ankle disorders and pes planus.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability and left leg disability, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease that could be linked to the current conditions. The right leg disability was not addressed as it is secondary to the low back condition.

The Veteran is granted a separate, 40 percent disability rating for the side effects of the medications used to treat his service-connected lumbosacral strain.,An effective date of October 11, 1995, is assigned for the award of TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee advanced tricompartmental DJD and low back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a secondary relationship between these conditions and his service-connected left knee severe tricompartmental DJD with effusion, pseudo laxity, and scar.,The Board also denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee advanced tricompartmental DJD and low back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a secondary relationship between these conditions and his service-connected left knee severe tricompartmental DJD with effusion, pseudo laxity, and scar.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of kidney disease, low back disability, left leg disability, or psychiatric disability other than his service-connected left knee disability. The appeal for these conditions is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current low back and knee disabilities did not arise during service or are otherwise related to his military service. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's DJD of the lumbar spine is currently rated at 20 percent since June 29, 2011. The effective date for service connection of bilateral radiculopathy of the lower extremities has been set at May 8, 2014.,No increased rating is warranted prior to March 17, 2010 and from March 17, 2010 to June 29, 2011. The Veteran's radiculopathy of the lower extremities has been rated at 20 percent since May 8, 2014.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability is etiologically related to his active service and grants service connection for lumbosacral strain.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, and bilateral hip disabilities due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to active service.

The Board found no evidence to support a link between the Veteran's low back disability and his military service, including in-service complaints of back pain. The Veteran's current condition is attributed to normal aging process rather than an injury or incident during service.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability and associated radiculopathies were evaluated under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The Board found that her symptoms did not meet or approximate criteria for a higher rating based on functional loss due to pain, as there was no objective evidence of pain on active range of motion testing or following repetitive motion testing.

The Board denied service connection and a temporary total rating for AAA based on convalescence. The Veteran's back disorder, PVD/PAD of the lower extremities, and AAA were not found to be related to his service or service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's low back disability, evaluated at 40 percent since December 12, 2015, meets the schedular criteria for a TDIU.

The Board found that the Veteran's low back disability did not meet criteria for separate ratings for radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities, as there was no evidence of nerve involvement or neurological manifestations.