The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability as there was no medical evidence of a causal link between her current back disability and her active military service.
The deciding factor: The November 2008 VA examiner stated that it would require resort to mere speculation to provide an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current back disability is etiologically related to any back complaints or findings in service, and there was not an 'adequate nexus of connection' between her complaints of back pain in service and the degenerative spine condition seen now.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability, degenerative joint disease of the thoracic and lumbar spine, lumbar radiculopathy secondary to spinal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2009
- Citation
- 0910974
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 remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back disability, and other conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability related to the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Veteran was awarded service connection for allergic rhinitis based on the PACT Act, but an earlier effective date prior to August 10, 2022, is not warranted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a back disability, effective immediately. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for left knee tendonitis with patellofemoral pain syndrome and degenerative joint disease based on limitation of flexion from October 4, 2024, to the present, and a 50 percent rating for the same condition from February 5, 2025, to the present.
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