The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his low back strain was denied due to failure to report for a VA examination. The Board also found that the veteran's current disc disease is not service-connected as it did not result from or be aggravated by his service-connected low back strain.
The deciding factor: The veteran failed to report for scheduled VA examinations, and there are no medical records showing a nexus between his current disc disease and his service-connected low back strain.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back strain, Disc herniation at L5-S1, L4 disc desiccation, Bulging at L5-S1 with radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 3, 2006
- Citation
- 0606229
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,419 · Granted: 21% (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 0606229.
What this means for you
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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 hearing loss and low back strain claims are remanded for further evaluation. The hearing loss claim is denied, while the low back strain claim requires additional examination to determine its severity.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for low back strain, left shoulder, and supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) based on evidence showing a causal relationship to in-service events or injuries.
- Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed because the March 2020 rating decision, which granted service connection for a low back strain, was never issued and therefore not an appealable decision.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial rating for his service-connected low back strain was denied, as the current severity of his condition does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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