Back / lumbar spine Board decisions

The veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine is rated at 40 percent, reflecting severe impairment.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and the need for additional development, including a VA examination.

The veteran's disabilities do not prevent him from engaging in substantially gainful employment, and he is employed as a lab director at a water treatment plant. Therefore, his claim for a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes is denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected mechanical low back pain syndrome, finding that the disability does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The veteran's service-connected cervical and lumbar spine disabilities have been rated as noncompensable, with no evidence of higher ratings due to additional disability or symptomatology.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection due to lack of new and material evidence, as well as his claim for a low back disorder.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected low back disorder warrants a 60 percent disability rating, which is the maximum schedular rating available under VA regulations.

The Board has determined that the veteran is unemployable due to multiple disabilities, including chronic lumbar syndrome and degenerative joint disease. The evidence shows he suffers from a combination of conditions that prevent him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection for Meniere's disease and a back disorder, finding that new evidence supports these claims. The veteran's symptoms of dizziness, ear pain, and hearing loss during service are considered to be manifestations of his later diagnosed Meniere's disease. For the back disorder, the Board found that the veteran incurred injury in service resulting in lumbosacral strain.

The Board found that the veteran's residuals of a lumbar laminectomy are not etiologically related to his service-connected lumbosacral strain and denied both claims for secondary service connection and increased rating.

The veteran's claim for a compensable rating for low back strain was denied by the RO, and no effective date or rating assigned.

The Board found that the veteran did not file timely substantive appeals for his initial grant of service connection and denied jurisdiction to consider these issues. The claim for a higher evaluation for lumbosacral strain was granted, but the rating assigned (40%) is maintained as sufficient evidence supports this determination.

The Board has determined that the effective date for the award of TDIU should be February 23, 1990, as this is the earliest date on which a claim was filed. The veteran's service-connected disabilities met the percentage requirements for TDIU from June 8, 1990.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and arranging for a VA examination to assess his service-connected disabilities and their impact on employment. The claim for service connection for low back disability will also be addressed.

The Board has restored the veteran's original 40 percent disability rating for chronic lumbar strain, finding that there was no actual improvement in his condition since the initial grant of service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluation of right wrist fracture, service connection for right knee disability, PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and back disability. The RO found that there was no evidence to support a higher rating or service connection for these conditions.

The veteran's low back disorder, which is currently rated at 20 percent disabling under the criteria for lumbosacral strain, has been granted a higher evaluation of 40 percent based on severe limitation of motion and other symptoms.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and low back disability, finding that the evidence did not warrant an increase in rating under either the old or new criteria.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disorder, finding no evidence of a nexus between any current low back disability and active duty.

The veteran's claims are being remanded due to the need for a video-conference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.