The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine and secondary service connection for hip disorder to include as secondary to degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine.
The deciding factor: Service medical records do not show any back disorder during or immediately after service, and there is no evidence of a chronic condition that began in service. The veteran's separation examination was normal, and he did not report any back complaints at separation. The Board finds that the current degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is less likely than not caused by an injury in service.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, hip disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 11, 2008
- Citation
- 0842658
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 0842658.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 40% prior to September 28, 2018. From that date, the rating was increased to 50%. The earlier effective date for TDIU is denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher level of SMC was denied as he does not meet the criteria for any additional levels of SMC based on his service-connected disabilities.
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