The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of low back disability and therefore cannot establish service connection for this condition. The claim for an increased rating for thoracic spine disability is denied as there is no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis or intervertebral disc syndrome.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing a current disability of the lumbar spine, and the veteran's complaints are limited to the thoracic spine. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim for service connection for low back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- low back (lumbar spine), thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- October 31, 2006
- Citation
- 0633637
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,547 · Granted: 20% (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 0633637.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeals of entitlement to service connection for various shoulder, cervical spine, ankle, knee, hip, and thoracic spine disabilities have been dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his claims during a hearing. The right ear disability appeal is also dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for increased ratings for low back disability, sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the lower extremities, and femoral nerve impairment due to inadequate medical examinations and lack of clarity regarding whether ankylosis is present.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for pes planus and thoracic spine service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding whether these conditions were aggravated by service or related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the complete service records have not been obtained and a remand is necessary to obtain them. Additionally, a VA examination with an opinion is needed to determine the nature, etiology, and severity of the Veteran's claimed lumbar spine, right foot, thoracic spine, and shoulder disabilities.
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