Back / lumbar spine — all decisions

The Board denied service connection for all the claimed conditions as there was no evidence to support a finding that any of these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active military service.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral knee, bilateral shoulder, low back and bilateral hip disabilities based on the evidence showing that these conditions are related to the Veteran's active military service.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including knee and foot conditions, a low back disability, radiculopathy, tinnitus, and a neck condition, to correct pre-decisional errors in fulfilling VA's duty to assist by rescheduling missed examinations.

The Board remands the case to obtain an adequate VA examination to address whether a back disability preexisted service and, if so, whether it was aggravated by service.

The Board denied service connection for a bowel condition and remanded claims for allergies, migraine headaches, low back condition, right hip condition, left hip condition, GERD, right knee condition, and left knee condition.

The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a procedural error in failing to provide the Veteran with notice of her right to a pre-decisional hearing.

The Board granted a 20 percent initial rating for bilateral dry eye syndrome and service connection for left knee strain, but denied other claims including increased ratings for right lower extremity radiculopathy, bilateral hearing loss, incomplete right bundle branch block (claimed as cardiac arrhythmia), degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine with IVDS, scarring of the left inguinal area, status post varicocele surgery, and service connection for left shoulder strain and restless leg syndrome.

The Board denied the claims for earlier effective dates and remanded several service connection claims.

The Board remands the claim for a low back disorder to obtain additional evidence and an adequate medical opinion in compliance with previous remand instructions.

The Board granted earlier effective dates for the award of increased ratings for a lumbar disability and lower extremity radiculopathies, effective August 4, 2022.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left shoulder disability, while remanding claims for bilateral plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis, psychiatric disability, right hip disability, left hip disability, and back disability.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for the award of service connection and denied increased ratings for various disabilities, but granted a separate rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy from October 20, 2020.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a low back disorder, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and traumatic brain injury due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.

The Board dismissed the appeals for earlier effective dates of service connection and DEA benefits, as they were not properly before the Board. The issues related to increased ratings and TDIU/Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) are remanded.

The Board granted a 40 percent disability rating for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability since September 26, 2024.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disability, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the Veteran's claimed condition and his active military service or any service-connected disability.

The Board remands the case for further development, including obtaining new medical opinions and examination reports to address the issues of service connection and increased ratings.

The Board granted service connection for thoracolumbar degenerative arthritis and lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration, cervical degenerative arthritis, left shoulder acromioclavicular joint degeneration, right hip strain, anxiety as secondary to the Veteran's back condition, and depression as secondary to the Veteran's back condition. The claims for service connection for a left knee condition and a right knee condition were denied.

The Veteran was granted a 40 percent rating for his back disability from September 14, 2017 to February 24, 2020 and a 20 percent rating for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy during the same period. The claims for higher ratings were denied for other conditions.

The Board granted service connection for a low back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that the Veteran's current conditions were caused by his in-service injuries.