The Board found no evidence of a chronic upper back disability associated with service and denied the veteran's claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that there was no link between the veteran's current upper back disability and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- upper back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2004
- Citation
- 0402566
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 0402566.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, remanded claims for service connection for an upper back disability and headaches, and remanded the claim for a compensable rating for left recurrent corneal erosion syndrome.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hip and knee disabilities, but denied service connection for an upper back disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an upper back disability and lower back pain due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, an upper back disability, and a thoracolumbar spine disability as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active or Reserve service.
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