The Board granted service connection for a low back disorder, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his current condition is etiologically linked to an in-service back injury.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows a chronic low grade lumbosacral strain during service and consistent diagnoses of spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, chronic low back pain, and chronic low back strain syndrome post-service. The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's recurring episodes of lumbar strain during his military service contributed to his future back pain symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2009
- Citation
- 0909127
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,013 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0909127.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Board has remanded the claims for a VA examination and medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's low back disorder and bilateral hip disorder are related to his service-connected Crohn's disease.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for low back disorder, skin disorder, tongue condition, right chest costochondritis, and right hand shaking due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that side effects from prescribed medications contributed substantially and materially to his accidental motorcycle collision resulting in fatal injuries.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for dermatitis/eczema, sleep apnea, a psychiatric disorder (including MDD and PTSD), hypertension, COPD, low back disorder, and prostate cancer are all granted. The Board found that the evidence supported these determinations based on direct service connection.
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