The Board found that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for a low back disability, and granted service connection based on the medical opinion that the current degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine are related to the veteran's in-service injury.
The deciding factor: The March 2005 VA examiner provided an opinion that the veteran's current degenerative arthritis of the spine is related to his service injury, which was considered significant evidence for reopening and granting the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability, degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 1, 2008
- Citation
- 0814402
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 claims for service connection for various disabilities to the AOJ for further development and consideration of evidence not previously considered.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including right shoulder arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, right hip condition, left hip condition, low back disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as there was no evidence of in-service injury or illness related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hemorrhoids, scars, low back disability, left ankle disability, left and right shoulder disabilities, and left and right hip disabilities as the evidence did not show that the Veteran had these conditions or related symptoms during the appeal period.
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