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
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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for chronic diarrhea, headaches, and neck pain for initial adjudication on the merits by the AOJ.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal of all issues related to service connection for various conditions, including back pain, neck pain, and nerve pain in both upper and lower extremities.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all service connection claims due to the Veteran's death, as there is no substituted appellant for this appeal.
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