The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disorder, including myositis of the dorsal spine and degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbosacral spine. However, the Board denied this claim as there is no probative evidence linking the current low back disorder to service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's current low back disorder and his period of active military service.
- Claimed conditions
- myositis of the dorsal spine, degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2009
- Citation
- 0917238
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 0917238.
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.
- Granted
Service connection for degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbosacral spine is granted. The Veteran's current DDD is related to an in-service back injury caused by a hard helicopter landing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and to obtain a new medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's claimed back conditions are secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that further development is needed for the Veteran's claims of service connection for lower back and right hip conditions, as these are related to his right knee disability. The decision also notes that there may be outstanding VA treatment records relevant to the issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding his left knee condition, back disability, and individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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