The Board finds that the veteran's current thoracic spine disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of a thoracic spine disorder related to the August 1996 injury and concluded that any degenerative changes were preexisting.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracic spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2003
- Citation
- 0306672
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 0306672.
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 granted service connection for a right shoulder disability and remanded the claims for lumbar spine, thoracic spine, right hip, left knee, right knee, left ankle, right ankle, and bilateral foot disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a thoracic spine disability and remanded the claims for bilateral hip, left sciatic radicular pain, headaches, and cervicothoracic spine disabilities.
- Dismissed
The appeal regarding CUE in the June 2014 rating decision to deny service connection for cervical and thoracic spine disabilities was dismissed due to an improper concurrent election of review.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for cervical spine, thoracic spine, TBI, and dyspnea to schedule VA examinations.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.