The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine and found that new and material evidence had been submitted. The Board determined that there was no nexus between the veteran's back disorder and his active duty military service, nor may it be presumed to have been incurred due to a specific exposure basis.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner at the May 2001 examination noted the veteran's complaints of low back pain but did not find any medical evidence linking the current degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine to his active duty service or any other incident during service.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2004
- Citation
- 0410589
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 0410589.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between the Veteran's current disability and his active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypertension, an increased rating for a stroke and stroke residuals, and an increased rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps on a presumptive basis due to presumed exposure to fine particulate matter during active service in Southwest Asia. The claims for sleep apnea syndrome and degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine were remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 40 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine from February 20, 2013 to January 22, 2020, exclusive of a convalescence period. The other claims were denied.
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