The Board found no residuals of an in-service back injury and concluded that the current degenerative changes are not related to service, thus denying the veteran's claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: Service records showed a back strain in 1956 but did not show any chronic condition. The current degenerative changes were first noted in 1992 after a work-related injury, and there is no medical evidence linking them to service.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a back injury, degenerative changes at L3-4, degenerative changes at L4-5, degenerative changes at L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2006
- Citation
- 0632235
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 0632235.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for residuals of a back injury, head injury, and neck injury as the evidence did not support that these injuries occurred during or while traveling from active duty.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for residuals of a back injury and an effective date earlier than May 26, 2023, for the award of service connection for residuals of a back injury.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for migraines and residuals of a back injury due to untimely notice of disagreement.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the veteran's claims for service connection of residuals from back, head, and neck injuries due to inadequate efforts by VA to obtain necessary records.
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