Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, to include HNP and DDD, resolving any reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.

The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include anxiety, depression, severe alcohol use disorder and moderate cocaine use disorder due to military sexual trauma (MST), and granted increased ratings for certain service-connected disabilities. The claim for dizziness was dismissed, as was the entitlement to a TDIU.

The Board granted an initial 10 percent rating for a single right leg scar and remanded the remaining claims for further development.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability and bilateral hearing loss due to lack of evidence supporting a link between the conditions and the Veteran's military service.

The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including acute sinusitis, cervical spine strain, and various musculoskeletal injuries, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury.

The Board granted an effective date of January 14, 2021 for the right hip disability and denied earlier effective dates for left hip osteoarthritis and low back ankylosing spondylitis and degenerative arthritis. The claims for increased ratings and TDIU were remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease, alone, has precluded all substantially gainful employment for which his education and occupational experience would otherwise qualify him from June 1, 2017.

The Board denied a compensable rating for the Veteran's deviated nasal septum, residuals nose fracture and remanded several other issues including service connection for a cervical spine condition, ratings for back injury with degenerative disc disease and left wrist fracture, and TDIU.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including bilateral ankle disorders, diabetes mellitus, type II, a heart disorder, a right shoulder disorder, hypertension, a low back disorder, bladder cancer, and left and right lung disease, to obtain additional evidence regarding the Veteran's toxic exposure during service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent after January 23, 2017, for his low back disability and also denied entitlement to a TDIU prior to November 3, 2020.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability due to inadequate medical opinion.

The veteran withdrew all appeals, including those for earlier effective dates and increased disability ratings.

The Board granted earlier effective dates for the increased ratings of PTSD, DJD lumbar spine, and left ulnar neuropathy back to March 1, 2018.

The appeals for service connection for a back condition, back tumor/meningioma, and bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy were dismissed as the issues have already been granted in full.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back condition and right hip condition, as there was insufficient evidence to establish a link between these conditions and his active duty service.

The Board remands the issues of entitlement to higher initial disability ratings for right and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, as well as a higher rating for degenerative disc disease and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine prior to May 9, 2016.

The Board granted service connection for low back disability, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.

The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbar disc herniation with spondylosis prior to October 19, 2020 and a rating in excess of 40 percent from that date.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for thoracolumbar spine disability prior to April 19, 2022, and a rating in excess of 40 percent from April 19, 2022, to the present.

The Board remands the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for PTSD and lumbar strain to obtain additional evidence, including medical records from her incarceration and potentially relevant private treatment records.