Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The May 1997 and April 1998 rating decisions denied service connection for various conditions, while the July 2001 decision granted service connection for osteoporosis of the upper spine. The effective date is retroactive to December 16, 1996.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and low back disability are service-connected due to their onset during combat service in Iraq.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine and related cervical and thoracic spines. The case is remanded to schedule a VA examination and readjudicate the claims.

The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 10 percent prior to September 24, 2012, and has been rated at 20 percent since the date of his most recent VA compensation examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to address her claims of service connection for various disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his request for a videoconference hearing. The case will be returned to the Board after the hearing.

The Board has determined that the Veteran did not have service in the Republic of Vietnam and his duties at Kunsan Air Force Base, Korea did not result in exposure to herbicides. Therefore, the claims for service connection based on herbicide exposure are denied.

The Veteran is rated as 70 percent or greater disabled due to service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with associated radiculopathy for the period from January 3, 2012, forward. The evidence shows that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's service-connected condition renders him incapable of maintaining substantially (more than marginal) gainful employment consistent with his education and employment background.

The Veteran's DDD of the lumbar spine is currently rated at 20 percent, and the VA examiner found that it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on limitation of motion or IVDS.

The Board found that the Veteran's low back disability is not related to service and denied his claim for service connection. The rating for hepatitis C remains unchanged.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent, but the Board found that it does not warrant a higher rating. The claims for left knee disorder, lumbar spine disorder, and left shoulder disorder were all denied as they are not service-connected.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to obtain private treatment records and an addendum medical opinion regarding his bowel and bladder dysfunction.

The Board has remanded the case for a new hearing at the Togus, Maine RO regarding the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected low back disability is not productive of limitation of flexion to 60 degrees or less, a combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine not greater than 120 degrees, muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or abnormal kyphosis, ankylosis of any kind, neurologic impairment, or incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least two weeks but less than four weeks during the past twelve months. As such, the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent have not been met.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain an additional VA examination and opinion in order to determine the etiology of the Veteran's current low back disability. The Veteran is seeking service connection for his claimed low back disorder.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to January 23, 1998 for the award of a TDIU rating was granted. The Board found that the Veteran was unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities prior to this date.

The Veteran's claim for a bilateral foot disability, other than peripheral neuropathy, is denied as there is no evidence of such a condition during the pendency of her appeal. The remaining claims are addressed in the REMAND section.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of head injury, cervical spine disorder, and lumbar spine disorder.,Service treatment records do not document the claimed head injuries or provide a basis for presumptive service connection.

The Board has remanded the case due to scheduling issues and will schedule a hearing for the Veteran.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine disability did not originate in service or until years thereafter, and is not otherwise etiologically related to service. As such, the claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability was denied.