The Board found that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for a lumbosacral spine disability. The appellant's pre-service history of low back problems due to a congenital shortening of the left lower extremity, combined with possible aggravation during service, supported the reopening of the claim.
The deciding factor: The Board found that new evidence submitted by Dr. Bersani supported the possibility that the appellant's pre-existing lumbosacral spine disability was aggravated during service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral spine disability
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 14, 2004
- Citation
- 0415121
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0415121.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for his lumbosacral spine disability and for TDIU based on that condition due to inadequate examination. The case is being returned for further development.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbosacral spine disability, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the condition and active duty service or any other factor.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's sleep apnea is being remanded for a VA examination to determine if it is proximately due to or has undergone any incremental increase in disability due to his service-connected mental health, back, and shoulder disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in the previous VA examination, which did not discount the ameliorative effects of her pain medication. The case is also remanded for consideration of TDIU as part of the evaluation of her back disability.
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