Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Veteran's low back disability is rated at 40 percent, effective from March 28, 2012. Service connection for a rash, including eczema, due to PTSD, is granted.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for low back disorder and bilateral hip disorders to allow for a VA examination to determine if these conditions are aggravated by service-connected disabilities.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's back condition and his acquired psychiatric conditions, including PTSD and depression, as secondary to a service-connected back condition.

The Board found that the Veteran's current low back disability is not related to injury or event in active service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, is not service-connected. The Board also found insufficient evidence to establish a secondary relationship between her back disorder and her right ankle disability.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for various foot and elbow conditions have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating than 10 percent for her right elbow fracture, cervical degenerative disc disease, or plantar fasciitis with heel spurs.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical opinions and examinations regarding his service-connected disabilities, including DJD of the thoracolumbar spine, DJD of the left ankle, chondromalacia patella of the left knee, chondromalacia patella of the right knee with degenerative changes, and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and new evidence is needed for a determination on service connection for an upper back/neck condition.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection or entitlement to higher ratings.

The Board found that the Veteran's current heart, cervical spine, low back, right knee, carotid artery stenosis, and peripheral vascular disease conditions are not related to his service or a service-connected disability. The claims for these conditions were therefore denied.

The Veteran's headaches and cervical spine disability are service-connected, with the headaches being related to her in-service complaints of frequent or severe headaches. The lumbar spine disability is currently rated at 20 percent.

The Board has granted service connection for a left knee disability, a right knee disability, and degenerative joint disease of the thoracic spine. The conditions are considered to be directly related to active duty service.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease at L5-S1 was granted a higher disability rating of 40 percent effective March 5, 2013.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn due to his request for withdrawal.

The Board has granted the Veteran's service connection claims for low back disorder, left knee disorder (secondary to service-connected disabilities), and left hip bursitis. The claim for increased ratings for left ankle sprain and left hip bursitis is remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for the claimed conditions, including dysphagia, neck disability, back disability, right shoulder disability, sinus disability, hypertension, sleep disturbance, and loss of vision of the right eye, based on presumptive service connection due to active military service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found no evidence of a current disability related to his right ankle, lumbar spine, bilateral hip, or bilateral knee conditions that are directly attributable to service.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for both the right ankle and low back disability claims, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination. The claims will be reconsidered after this development.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for recurrent pleurisy, to include scar on lung as a qualifying chronic disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.317 has been withdrawn.

The Veteran's lumbar degenerative disc and joint disease is now rated at 20 percent effective September 29, 2014.