The Board finds that the appellant's current low back disorder was caused by an incident of service, and thus grants his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: There is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding whether the appellant's current low back disorder was caused by the in-service truck accident or a civilian work accident. The Board finds that this case should invoke VA's doctrine of reasonable doubt, granting the benefit of the doubt to the appellant's claim.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a low back injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2005
- Citation
- 0500940
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,613 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0500940.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a low back injury is remanded due to the need for additional evidence, including SSA records and medical records from Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, Texas, and UVA Hospital System.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete development, including failing to schedule and notify him of examinations. The issues are now pending again for further development.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the service connection claims for residuals of a low back injury and post-traumatic headaches due to the Veteran's death.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for residuals of a low back injury and degenerative arthritis, but denied service connection for a cervical spine disability. The low back condition is presumed to have existed prior to service and was aggravated by an in-service pool injury.
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