The Board found that new and material evidence had been received to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability, but ultimately denied the claim as there was no evidence of an etiological relationship between the veteran's current back disability and his period of active duty service.
The deciding factor: The June 2004 VA examination report stated that it was less likely as not that the veteran's back symptoms in service were causative of the veteran's current degenerative changes in the lumbar spine.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0902515
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 issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back disability, and other conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability related to the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Veteran was awarded service connection for allergic rhinitis based on the PACT Act, but an earlier effective date prior to August 10, 2022, is not warranted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a back disability, effective immediately. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for left knee tendonitis with patellofemoral pain syndrome and degenerative joint disease based on limitation of flexion from October 4, 2024, to the present, and a 50 percent rating for the same condition from February 5, 2025, to the present.
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