Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome. Service connection is granted for a lumbar spine disability, depressive disorder with anxiety, and bilateral ankle, knee, hip, wrist, elbow, and shoulder disabilities due to undiagnosed illness or in-service exposure.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD and major depressive disorder. The Veteran's low back disability is currently rated as 20 percent disabling.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a lumbar spine disorder and denied an increased rating for cervical spine disability. The Veteran's right foot disability issue is pending.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for his current low back, right hip and right knee disabilities as secondary to his service-connected fracture of the right tibia and fibula. The Board has determined that further development is necessary before a final decision can be made.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining missing service records and a new VA examination to determine the etiology of the Veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disorders.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine and left lower extremity disabilities, including his left knee disability, are not related to service. The VA examiners concluded that these conditions were not caused or aggravated by a heel injury sustained in service.

The Veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disabilities were evaluated, with the cervical strain receiving a 20% rating effective June 16, 2009. The lumbar strain was not rated as it did not meet criteria for any specific disability evaluation.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining a new opinion on his employability and reviewing the claims file to ensure all relevant evidence has been considered.

The Board denied the claims for reopening of service connection for right and left knee disorders, cervical spine disorder, low back disorder, bilateral hip disorder, radiculopathy of upper extremities, neuropathy of lower extremities, and psychiatric disorder due to lack of evidence establishing a nexus between these conditions and service.

The Veteran's service-connected post thoracolumbar strain with degenerative arthritis was found to not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent prior to November 8, 2007 and 20 percent from that date. The claim for TDIU was denied.

The September 2006 rating decision reducing the Veteran's disability rating for lumbosacral strain with degenerative changes to 10 percent was proper in light of the clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the July 2004 rating decision, which applied outdated criteria. The appropriate procedural steps were followed.

The Veteran's service-connected postoperative lumbar spine degenerative disc disease is shown to be productive of a disability picture that more nearly approximates that of incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 6 weeks during the past year, warranting a rating of 60 percent.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for diabetes mellitus, and there was no evidence of secondary hypertension or arthritis/neck/back conditions to his service-connected diabetes.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as herniated disc disease, degenerative disc disease, facet arthritis and spinal lumbar stenosis, is not due to a disease or injury incurred in service. The claim for service connection is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus and ulcers, finding that the Veteran's conditions are at least as likely as not related to his active service. Service connection was also granted for low back disability, but with a negative opinion regarding its onset in service.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for low back disability, bilateral CTS, and bilateral heel spurs. The case has been remanded due to incomplete records from the King Khalid Military City in Saudi Arabia and missing VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have PTSD and his other diagnosed psychiatric disabilities are not shown to be etiologically related to service. The claims for right knee disability, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, hypertension, and bilateral leg cramps were withdrawn by the Veteran during a hearing before the Board. Service connection is denied for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, depression, and a mood disorder), right lower extremity disability, left lower extremity disability, low back disability, right knee disability, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, hypertension, and bilateral leg cramps.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right ankle disorder, a bilateral foot disorder, and a back disorder as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability. The evidence did not support these claims.

The Veteran's claims are being remanded for further development to determine the etiology and service connection status of his claimed disabilities, including whether they are related to pre-existing conditions or incurred during service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. The Veteran's low back disability is considered to be due to normal aging and genetic predisposition rather than in-service injury.