The Board reopens and grants service connection for a low back disorder, finding that new and material evidence has been submitted to support the claim. The veteran's current neck pain is also found to be related to an in-service incident involving boxes falling on his head.
The deciding factor: The 1996 VA examiner opined that the veteran's low back injury had its onset in service, supporting a direct link between the in-service accident and the current back disability. The Board finds this evidence sufficient to grant service connection for the low back disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- neck pain, residuals of injury to the lumbar spine (claimed as back pain), post-traumatic headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2008
- Citation
- 0812768
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 0812768.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back pain and neck pain, finding no current disability. The claim for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is remanded due to inadequate consideration of all potential exposures.,The claim for an acquired psychiatric disability (PTSD) is also remanded due to a lack of development of the Veteran's therapist's records.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for various conditions including back pain, flat feet, impaired eyesight, joint pain, neck pain, and sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to errors in duty to assist and need for additional medical opinions. The Veteran's pre-existing conditions are being evaluated, as is his current symptoms.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for neck pain, right knee pain, and right shoulder pain. The claim for migraine headaches was also denied. The case is remanded for further action on the obstructive sleep apnea claim.
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