Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board denied service connection for a left knee disorder, lower back disorder, migraines, right plantar fasciitis, and left pelvis stress fracture but granted service connection for left plantar fasciitis.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as correctable evidence was not obtained and VA examinations were inadequate.

The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, to include facet joint arthropathy, and remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral foot conditions.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for headaches, lumbar spine disability, and nerve condition of the right lower extremity due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities precluded him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience, effective July 29, 2016.

The Board granted service connection for a lower back condition, OSA as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected back condition, and chronic bronchitis. The claims for hip arthritis, sciatic neuritis, and unspecified persistent depressive disorder; generalized anxiety disorder were remanded.

The Board granted service connection for right and left upper extremity radiculopathy but denied increased ratings for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine and IVDS, a scar associated with it, and dismissed claims for other conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings, as well as special monthly compensation based on housebound criteria.

The Board denied service connection for the claimed disabilities as there was no evidence of a current disability or a nexus to service.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings due to improper concurrent election of multiple review options.

The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, and lumbosacral strain (lower back pain) based on the evidence showing that these conditions are related to military service.

The appeal for both the disability rating and service connection claims has been withdrawn by the Veteran's attorney.

The appeal for service connection for a low back disorder was dismissed because the December 2023 rating decision that deferred adjudication of the claim does not constitute an appealable adjudicative action.

The Board granted restoration of a 20 percent disability rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy associated with degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and IVDS, effective March 19, 2022, while denying higher ratings for other conditions. The Board also granted TDIU since February 16, 2021.

The Board denied a disability rating greater than 70 percent for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, in remission, and remanded the claim for service connection for back disorder.

The Veteran's service-connected migraine headaches, along with other disabilities, have prevented her from obtaining and maintaining substantial and gainful employment, warranting an award of extraschedular TDIU and special monthly compensation at the housebound rate effective February 17, 2022.

The Board dismissed the issues of service connection for GERD, hepatitis, nausea, a stomach disability, strep throat, and bilateral hearing loss. The remaining issues are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder is rated at 50 percent, and his hemorrhoids are not compensable. Other claims for increased ratings for the hips, back, and right lower extremity radiculopathy are remanded.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a back disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability due to a duty-to-assist error in failing to provide VA examinations and obtain etiological opinions.

The Board denied an initial compensable rating for tension headache and remanded the claims for service connection for unspecified abdominal pain, right carpal tunnel syndrome, left carpal tunnel syndrome, low back disorder, left leg paralysis of the sciatic nerve (secondary to a service-connected condition), left foot plantar fasciitis (secondary to a service-connected condition), and tinnitus.