The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disorder, finding no evidence of an etiological relationship between the condition and his period of active military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the low back problems were not caused by or the result of service, as there was no evidence of an ongoing and chronic back condition since service and spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease were determined to be the result of natural progression.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disorder, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, spinal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2009
- Citation
- 0906815
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death while it was pending.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for spinal stenosis, peripheral neuropathy, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a low back disorder to obtain additional medical evidence and ensure that the Veteran is afforded every possible consideration.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a low back disorder was dismissed as the RO granted service connection in a November 2023 rating decision.
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