The Board has determined that the Veteran's DDD of the lumbar spine is secondary to his service-connected residuals of shell fragment wound to the left thigh. The right leg disability, including DJD of the right knee, was not found to be related to service or any service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner could not determine if the Veteran's DDD and spinal stenosis were caused by his service-connected left thigh disability due to lack of medical literature supporting such a conclusion. However, the Board resolved doubt in favor of the Veteran, finding that his current low back disabilities are related to his service-connected left thigh disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, Right leg disability, to include degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 19, 2009
- Citation
- 0931162
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 0931162.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there is a need for additional medical examination and opinion to address the Veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability, including DDD of the lumbar spine. The current VA opinions are deemed inadequate due to their failure to consider the Veteran's lay reports of in-service injury and continuous symptomatology since service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and bilateral hearing loss, do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was denied as his symptoms did not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher evaluation.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for OSA as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected DDD of the lumbar spine, finding that his service-connected condition aggravated his nonservice-connected OSA.
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