The Board found that new evidence submitted by the veteran raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claim for service connection for a low back disability. However, the Board also determined that the current low back disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by his active service and is unrelated to any incident therein.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no nexus between the veteran's current low back pain and his period of active service, given the length of time between his separation from service and the initial record of diagnosis, as well as the lack of evidence of a continuity of treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2008
- Citation
- 0835338
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 0835338.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, bilateral knee disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder, finding that the evidence did not show an in-service onset or relationship to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to duty to assist errors prior to the rating decision on appeal. The Veteran is not prejudiced as a remand is necessary to correct these errors.
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