Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board has granted service connection for a low back disability, finding that the Veteran's current condition is at least as likely as not related to his in-service injury.

The appeal for service connection for lumbar spine multi level degenerative disc disease with bilateral neural foraminal narrowing and spinal stenosis was dismissed due to a procedural defect.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for back condition was dismissed due to the untimely filing of his VA Form 10182, which did not follow proper claims processing rules.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disorder, finding that his current condition is related to military service and granting the benefit of doubt in his favor.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, right knee, left knee, back, neck, and right shoulder disorders. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder was also denied.

The appeal of the right ankle injury claim is dismissed because it was deferred by the RO. The back condition/injury claim is remanded for further evaluation.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine and right hip disabilities, both secondary to his service-connected left knee disability. The VA will obtain addendum medical opinions to address whether these conditions are aggravated by or related to his service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's sleep apnea is considered caused or aggravated by his service-connected conditions, including PTSD, migraine headaches, hypertension, right wrist sprain, left lower extremity radiculopathy, asthma, lumbar degenerative disc disease, GERD, and IBS.

The Veteran's claims for service connection related to low back, left knee, left hip, and right hip disorders have been remanded due to inadequate VA opinions. The Board requires an addendum opinion addressing the etiology of these conditions.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back condition as secondary to his service-connected left knee degenerative arthritis and right knee degenerative arthritis with medial meniscus tear. The decision is based on medical opinions that support the link between the Veteran's current low back condition and his service-connected knee conditions.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are granted as secondary to his service-connected tinnitus. The claim for low back pain is remanded due to a lack of VA examination.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disorder, right foot disorder (plantar fasciitis), and left foot disorder (plantar fasciitis) were not incurred or aggravated by service.,There is no evidence of a current disability related to the claimed conditions during service.

The Board has determined that the VA opinions are inadequate and requires a new opinion to determine if the Veteran's lumbar spine condition is related to service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbar spine disability and bilateral hearing loss disability, finding that there is not an approximate balance of evidence in favor of the claims.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals regarding service connection for a prostate disability, as well as his claims for increased ratings for sciatic nerve radiculopathy left lower extremity, cervical spine degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, and left ear hearing loss. The Veteran withdrew his requests for hearings and all of his pending appeals.

The Veteran's left and right lower extremity radiculopathy were granted a disability rating of 20 percent each, effective from June 3, 2014. The lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with lumbago and subluxation of L4-L5 was also granted a disability rating of 20 percent.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to April 30, 2020 for the grant of service connection for migraines was denied.,The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for migraines including migraine variants associated with cervical strain with IVDS to include C5-6 DDD, neck condition is also denied.

The Veteran's appeals for increased rating and service connection have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeals.

The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with IVDS, radiculopathy, sciatic nerve, right lower extremity, and PTSD, unspecified depressive disorder, and other specified depressive disorder are all granted as service-connected.,PTSD is linked to in-service stressors, while the other conditions have been granted on a direct basis.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a back condition and a left thumb condition due to inadequate medical opinions in the July 2022 VA examinations. The Veteran's reports about his symptoms will be considered, along with any medical reasons to accept or reject these reports.