The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine at L3-4 and L4-5, finding no clear and unmistakable error in a 1961 rating decision that denied service connection.
The deciding factor: The January 1961 RO decision was based on the correct facts as they were known at that time. There was no medical evidence of record establishing a nexus between his in-service back injury and the current back disorder diagnosed by VA in November 1960, five years after discharge from service.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine at L3-4 and L4-5
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2009
- Citation
- 0902303
Veterans Law Judge
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0902303.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for service connection of degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine at L3-4 and L4-5, based on a claim of clear and unmistakable error in a previous rating decision. The case must be remanded to allow the RO to consider this issue.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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