Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board restored the 40 percent rating for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability effective April 12, 2024 and denied a higher rating. The left and right hip service connection claims were remanded.

The Board granted a 10-percent rating for the Veteran's plantar wart right foot and service connection for tinnitus, while remanding several other claims for further development.

The character of the appellant's discharge from active military service is not a bar to the receipt of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, and service connection was granted for bilateral pes planus and bilateral tinnitus. However, service connection was denied for acquired psychiatric disorder, traumatic brain injury (TBI), heel spurs condition, right knee, left knee, lower lumbar back, hypertension, hemorrhoids, and sleep apnea.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions due to a failure to provide VA examinations after rescheduling attempts.

The Board granted a 40 percent rating for lumbar strain, status post surgery with IVDS and a 30 percent rating for migraine headaches. The claims for non-compensable ratings for three surgical scars, s/p lumbar spine surgery, and 10 percent rating for painful surgical scar, posterior trunk, s/p lumbar surgery were denied. Additionally, the Board granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).

The Board granted an effective date of June 14, 1964 for the award of service connection for a low back disability and an acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, tinnitus, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, Hepatitis C, a thoracolumbar spine disability, and a left knee disability, as the evidence did not support a finding of a current diagnosis or a link to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for thoracolumbar strain, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome as there was no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his in-service treatment.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, as the evidence did not show that she was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board granted an initial rating of 70 percent for PTSD, denied a higher rating for the lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine, and granted separate ratings of 10 percent each for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy. A TDIU was also granted.

The Board granted service connection for right shoulder pain/rotator cuff and degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, finding that the evidence is at least in approximate balance regarding their etiological relation to active duty.

The Board granted service connection for persistent depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, a heart murmur, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board remands the issues of entitlement to service connection for left knee, right knee, left ankle, and low back conditions as secondary to a service-connected disability due to an inadequate medical opinion.

The Board denied service connection for lumbosacral strain and remanded the claim for bilateral plantar fasciitis due to insufficient evidence.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's cervical spine, lumbar spine, left and right lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities but granted a 10 percent rating for a painful scar of the mid back and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and hemorrhoids, while remanding claims for a low back disability, left knee disability, tension headaches, GERD, chronic constipation, and hypertension.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and a gastrointestinal disability, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left knee disability, and dermatitis. The Board also granted a rating of 20 percent for the lumbar spine disability.

The Board granted ratings of 70 percent for major depressive disorder and 40 percent for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, while denying higher ratings for sleep apnea with COPD and chronic headaches. TDIU was granted based on the service-connected major depressive disorder.

The Board denied service connection for diabetes, gout, lower back disability, and sleep apnea. The initial ratings for hearing loss and tinnitus were also denied.

The Board denied service connection for several musculoskeletal disabilities and remanded the claim for a lumbar spine disability for readjudication, while also remanding claims for other musculoskeletal conditions.