The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a back injury is not well-grounded because there is no current medical evidence showing a diagnosed disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not show any current back disability, and the Court held in Sanchez-Benitez v. West that pain alone does not constitute a disability for which service connection may be granted.
- Claimed conditions
- Back pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 18, 2000
- Citation
- 0024860
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0024860.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for erectile dysfunction and an acquired psychiatric disorder, but remanded claims for asthma, back pain, left knee instability, left leg shin splints, right knee instability, and right leg shin splints.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as the evidence did not support a current disability. The claims for left knee condition, back pain, migraines, right knee condition, GERD, and low testosterone were remanded due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including unconfirmed service locations and lack of VA examinations.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood was granted, while the other claims were remanded.
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