Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess his spine conditions.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a current low back or left knee disability, and that any such disabilities are not related to his service-connected right knee disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right leg condition, somatization disorder secondary to his service-connected residuals of fracture of the right middle finger, and an increased rating for residuals of a fracture of the right middle finger due to failure to report for a scheduled VA examination.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's low back disorder, finding that new and material evidence was submitted to reopen the claim. The issue is now resolved in favor of the veteran.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected low back disability is being remanded due to the need for additional development and consideration of new regulatory criteria.

The Board denied the veteran's appeal of the propriety of initial evaluations for degenerative disc disease at L4-5 and L5-S1, finding that the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent prior to August 7, 1996, were not met. The criteria for a 20 percent evaluation are met as of August 7, 1996, but no higher evaluations are warranted.

The VA performed a laminectomy and diskectomy on the veteran's L4-5 vertebrae in October 1996. However, there is no evidence to support that this procedure resulted in additional disability of the low back.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining additional VA medical records and scheduling an examination to evaluate the service-connected low back disability under different rating criteria.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities, particularly his low back disability.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board found that the veteran did not file a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) regarding the effective date for his service-connected low back disorder, which was initially assigned in February 1994. As a result, the appeal on this issue is denied.

The Board found no evidence of a lumbar spine injury during service and no competent medical opinion linking the veteran's status-post lumbar laminectomy to his military service. As such, the claim for service connection was denied.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new examination and review of the claims file to determine if higher ratings are warranted for his service-connected conditions.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the service-connected lumbosacral strain, effective from March 21, 2001.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to missing service medical records.

The Board found no evidence of current cervical or lumbar degenerative joint disease, and denied service connection for these conditions. Service connection was also denied for systemic lupus erythematosus due to lack of a current disability.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete evidence and legal errors in previous decisions. The appellant's service connection claims for a back disorder and bilateral hearing loss will be reconsidered after obtaining additional medical records.

The veteran's service-connected conditions do not result in an employment handicap, and he has successfully maintained suitable employment.

The veteran's low back disability is rated at 40 percent, effective as of the date of this decision. His initial rating for diabetes mellitus remains at 20 percent.

The Board found no evidence of a back injury in service and concluded that the veteran's current back disability is not related to his military service.