Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to changes in the law and incomplete information.

The Board has granted service connection for multiple joint arthritis due to Reiter's disease and assigned a 10 percent disability rating. The veteran's claim for increased ratings for osteoarthritis of the lumbosacral spine and conjunctivitis was also granted.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain, effective from the date of this decision. The combined rating of all disabilities is now at least 70 percent, which meets the criteria for a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes.

The veteran's low back disability was initially rated at 20 percent and later increased to 40 percent. The decision grants the higher rating since June 7, 1996.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to incomplete records and need for further examinations.

The Board found new and material evidence to reopen the claim, but concluded that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for left nephrectomy or lower back disorder.

The veteran's lower back pain with degenerative disc disease is currently rated at 40 percent disabling effective January 10, 2001. Prior to that date, the disability was rated at 20 percent.

The veteran's lower back pain with degenerative disc disease is currently rated at 40 percent disabling effective January 10, 2001. Prior to that date, the disability was rated at 20 percent.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining Tuskegee VAMC outpatient treatment records and VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was denied by the RO. The case is being remanded for further development and examination.

The veteran's low back disability, rated at 40 percent, is found to be productive of not more than severe disablement with no evidence of pronounced intervertebral disc syndrome or additional functional loss due to pain or other pathology.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318, and dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable evaluation for his right hip condition and an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. The evidence did not support higher ratings under applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has determined that the appellant's service-connected lumbar spine disability does not warrant a higher rating, and he is not entitled to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has ordered additional development due to the need for updated medical records and a VA examination, as well as obtaining Social Security Administration records.

The Board found that the veteran's chronic muscular strain of the lumbar spine is no more than 10 percent disabling, and thus denied an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder, left shoulder disorder, and left wrist disorder. Additionally, the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral pes planus and a compensable evaluation for residuals of a right ankle injury were also denied.

The Board has decided that the veteran's low back disability is not service-connected.

The VA determined that the veteran's lumbar spine stenosis, right L4-5 disc herniation, and degenerative arthritis are not related to service or his service-connected shell fragment wound of the low back. The VA also found no evidence supporting an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for residuals of a shell fragment wound of the low back.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of lumbosacral strain was denied as a matter of law due to her failure to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause.