The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a low back injury, as there was no evidence that his current chronic low back disorder was related to active duty.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran's low back complaints in service were acute and transitory and resolved without chronic residuals. The current chronic low back disorder, diagnosed degenerative disc disease (DDD), was not shown until several years after service and is not related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a low back injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2009
- Citation
- 0903989
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 finds that the veteran's current back disability is more likely than not due to in-service manifestations and grants service connection.
- Partly granted
The veteran's service connection for residuals of a low back injury was granted, while the claims for an initial evaluation in excess of 30 percent for anxiety disorder with somatic features and for service connection for residuals of a hip injury were denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the claims for service connection for residuals of low back, left shoulder and neck injuries, as well as the claim for prostate cancer, due to an inadequate medical opinion from a previous VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of service connection for residuals of a low back injury to ensure that VA obtains a medical examination and opinion addressing whether the veteran's low back disability is related to his military service.
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