The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, postoperative status, and denied service connection for PTSD. The veteran's low back disability is found to be related to in-service parachute jumps, while his PTSD claim was not supported by credible evidence of an in-service stressor.
The deciding factor: The VA physician provided a medical opinion linking the veteran's current back disability to a parachute accident during military service, which resolved the issue in favor of the veteran. For PTSD, the Board found insufficient evidence to corroborate the occurrence of the claimed stressors related to combat experience.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, postoperative status, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 11, 2006
- Citation
- 0628802
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 0628802.
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 PTSD to be readjudicated on the merits due to new and relevant evidence.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied, except for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disability which were granted. The veteran was also granted service connection for hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an evaluation in excess of 70 percent disabling for service-connected PTSD due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right hip bursitis, left knee strain, TBI, and PTSD.
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