The Board has determined that the veteran's postoperative residuals of disc disease of the lumbar spine is related to his active duty service and grants this claim. The thoracic spine disability, however, was not incurred or aggravated during his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no link between the veteran's military service and the current low back pathology, but after resolving doubt in favor of the veteran, the Board determined that the postoperative residuals of disc disease of the lumbar spine is etiologically related to his active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- postoperative residuals of disc disease of the lumbar spine, thoracic spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2004
- Citation
- 0406020
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 0406020.
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.
- 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.
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