The Board found that a preponderance of the competent medical and other evidence supports a conclusion that the Veteran's lumbar spine DJD condition is unrelated to his active duty service.
The deciding factor: The November 2008 examiner opined that it was not likely that the Veteran's current low back disability is related to his military service, based on the lack of medical records from 1981 to '87 suggesting he ever went for back pain and the absence of a history of chronic pain during service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative joint disease (DJD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0910809
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.
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The Veteran's appeal for higher disability ratings for cervical spine DDD and lumbar DJD, as well as the claim for TDIU, is being remanded due to issues with the timeliness of her Notice of Disagreement (NOD) regarding the May 2010 rating decision.
- Granted
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- Remanded (sent back)
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