The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine and granted it. The Board also found that the veteran's depression is secondary to his service-connected osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed a significant injury to the back during active service, leading to osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine. The VA examiner attributed the veteran's low back disability to his in-service accident and noted depression as secondary to his service-connected low back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 28, 2006
- Citation
- 0612301
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 0612301.
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 remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including back pain, knee and wrist joint pains, neck pain, anxiety, depression, as further development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for depression, PTSD, and an anxiety disorder due to the lack of a current diagnosis.
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