Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to discrepancies in medical opinions regarding the etiology of the veteran's right hip and low back disabilities.

The veteran's appeals for service connection and increased evaluations are being remanded due to procedural issues, including the need for VCAA compliance and additional development of evidence.

The Board has granted the appellant's attempt to reopen his claim for service connection of a low back disability, finding new and material evidence.

The Board is remanding the case to ensure proper notification of the provisions of the VCAA and to determine if all evidence needed to consider the claim has been obtained.

The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the veteran's lumbosacral strain, finding that his symptoms more closely approximated the criteria for this higher evaluation.

The Board denied the claim for an increased rating for service-connected mechanical low back pain with degenerative disc disease, currently evaluated at 40 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's back disability, left hip stress fracture, and psychiatric disorder are all service-connected. The left knee disability is not service-connected.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining missing service medical records and personnel records, as well as pertinent medical treatment records from Dr. Jose Ramon Medina.

The Board dismissed the veteran's appeal because his substantive appeal was not timely filed within one year of notification of the March 2000 rating decision and more than six months after issuance of the August 13, 2001 SOC.

The Board found that the appellant's low back disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and is not proximately due to a service-connected disability. The evidence did not show that his current low back disability had its onset during service or within one year of separation.

The VA granted service connection and a 10 percent disability rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, but denied an increased rating beyond this level.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection due to new evidence showing a back injury during his second period of active duty. The Board finds that this condition is related to his military service.

The Board has denied the appellant's claim for service connection for a back condition, finding that there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease and insufficient medical evidence to establish a causal connection between any current disability and military service.

The Board has determined that it is at least as likely as not that the veteran's current low back disorder, which was aggravated by a service-connected shrapnel wound in his right lumbar area during World War II, qualifies for service connection.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining medical records and arranging for VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease. The RO should also consider all pertinent diagnostic codes under the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities in 38 C.F.R. Part 4.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disorder is proximately due to his service-connected left knee disability, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, a back disorder, a bilateral knee disorder, and a bilateral foot disorder. The conditions were found to not be incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development of evidence, including clarification of his military service dates and further examination of his claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder, finding that there was no evidence linking his current condition to his active duty service.

The Board has determined that the evidence submitted since the November 1977 denial does not meet the regulatory standard of being so significant that it must be considered in order to fairly decide the merits of the claim for service connection for residuals of a right-sided injury, claimed as a back disorder. As such, the petition to reopen the claim is denied.