The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative disc disease at L2-3 was incurred in service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner could not render an opinion regarding the date of onset without resorting to speculation, but found reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran's claim based on consistent complaints of low back pain during service and post-service examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2008
- Citation
- 0817070
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 0817070.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left ankle and lumbosacral spine disabilities were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings under applicable VA rating criteria.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at a 40 percent evaluation, effective from the date of the May 2013 rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU as his service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a retrospective medical opinion to assess the severity and manifestations of the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine disability.
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