The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for low back disability. The veteran's chronic low back disability, including degenerative disc disease at L4 to L5 and L5 to S1, was incurred in active duty. However, there is no clear indication of entitlement to an increased rating for tension headaches.
The deciding factor: The additional evidence provided by the VA outpatient records and diagnostic test results supports the reopening of the claim for service connection for low back disability. The veteran's chronic complaints of low back problems are consistent with his in-service injury and subsequent medical history, including X-rays showing minimal narrowing at L5 to S1 space.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability, tension headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 31, 2002
- Citation
- 0205673
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 0205673.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities to the AOJ for further development and consideration of evidence not previously considered.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches with an initial rating of 50 percent effective from August 10, 2022, and denied the claims for service connection for a right knee disability, obstructive sleep apnea, kidney disability, low back disability, and erectile dysfunction.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including right shoulder arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, right hip condition, left hip condition, low back disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as there was no evidence of in-service injury or illness related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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