The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder, which is now diagnosed as degenerative joint and disc disease of the dorso-lumbar spine. The Board finds that the veteran incurred this disability during his military service.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by Drs. Hensley, Jones, and Springstead link the current degenerative joint and disc disease to the in-service injury reported by the veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, degenerative joint and disc disease of the dorso-lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- October 21, 2004
- Citation
- 0428999
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 0428999.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, right and left upper extremity radiculopathy, sleep disturbances, a right knee disability, osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, allergic rhinitis, and patellofemoral syndrome with degenerative arthritis in the left knee. The Board found that there was insufficient evidence to support these claims.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability, including osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine. The Board found that there was no evidence to support direct service connection but established continuity and chronicity under VA regulations.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings and service connection, finding no persuasive evidence that the criteria for increased evaluations were met prior to the respective claim or examination dates.
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