The veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder was denied because the evidence did not show that his current back condition is related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the veteran's current back disorder is less than 50 percent likely attributable to his military service and is an accumulation of degenerative changes, unrelated to any acute injury during service.
- Claimed conditions
- back disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2009
- Citation
- 0904241
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 0904241.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a back disorder, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes mellitus due to errors in development of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for headaches, right hip disorder, left hip disorder, back disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a failure to provide notice regarding the Veteran's right to a hearing.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for peripheral vascular disease of the bilateral lower extremities and a back disorder have been dismissed as he has withdrawn his appeal.
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