The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for low back pain with degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss disability and residuals of an injury to the right biceps muscle (major). The appeal was not about service connection at all.
The deciding factor: No new and material evidence was submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for low back pain with degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine. The appellant's bilateral hearing loss disability is rated as 40 percent disabling, which is already the maximum rating under the applicable diagnostic code.
- Claimed conditions
- low back pain, degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- May 6, 2002
- Citation
- 0204168
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 0204168.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The claim for service connection of a low back disability was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The claim is denied as there is no evidence that the current condition is related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, and low back pain due to potential errors in duty to assist. The AOJ is required to verify the Veteran's alleged exposure to herbicide agents and obtain private treatment records.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating, compensable rating, and extension of temporary total evaluation for his lumbar spine disability have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing all claims in April 2022.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, including degenerative arthritis and IVDS. The decision is based on the Veteran's in-service injury during active duty and his continuous symptoms since then.
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