Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain additional medical evidence and determine if the veteran's current low back disability is related to his service.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for chronic sinusitis. The issue of service connection for a back disorder remains pending and is being remanded to allow further development.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability and tendonitis of the feet, finding that there was no evidence of chronic disabilities during or within one year after service. The examiner concluded that any current low back disability is not related to service, and there was insufficient evidence linking tendonitis of the feet to service.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disability, as the submitted evidence was cumulative and did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The veteran's spondylosis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine are currently rated at 40 percent, but do not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation based on their current manifestations.

The veteran's intervertebral disc syndrome of the lumbar spine has been manifested throughout the appeal period by severe limitation of motion, moderate incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve, without unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine, and is productive of pronounced impairment. As a result, the criteria for a 60 percent schedular rating for lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome are met for the entire appeal period.

The veteran's degenerative disc disease at the level of the 3rd and 4th, and 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae does not result in pronounced intervertebral disc syndrome during the period from March 1, 1995, to February 19, 2002. Therefore, a rating in excess of 40 percent is denied.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a low back disability and a right shoulder disability due to incomplete development of the record.

The VA determined that the veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is not related to his active service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board granted a 40 percent rating for the veteran's service-connected fibromyositis of the lumbosacral spine, which was previously rated as 20 percent disabling.

The Board found that the veteran's current back disability was not present in service and is not related to service or event or occurrence therein. Arthritis may not be presumed to have been incurred in service.

The veteran's low back disorder, characterized by occasional popping and locking of the lumbar spine causing muscle spasm and guarding enough to contribute to his abnormal gait, warrants a rating of 20 percent effective from July 26, 2004.

The Board has granted a 40% evaluation for the service-connected low back disability, effective from April 1997.

The Board has granted increased ratings for the veteran's lumbosacral strain and anxiety disorder, with a rating of 20 percent for each condition.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for residuals of a tubal ligation, right foot disability, and bilateral knee disability. The initial ratings for hypothyroidism, DM, and DDD of the lumbar spine are denied.

The veteran's low back disorder is rated at 20 percent, and the residuals of gunshot wound to the left lower extremity are rated at 40 percent. The left peroneal neuropathy (residuals of gunshot wound) is not separately rated as it was not addressed in this decision.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the right knee and degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease of the back, finding that there is no current disability in these conditions and that they are not related to his military service.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability and granted it, finding that new evidence supports a link between his in-service injury and his current condition.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to the need for additional records and information.