The Board found that the appellant's current diagnosis of degenerative disease of the thoracolumbar spine is not linked to his service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examination revealed no evidence linking the appellant's current condition to his service, including any in-service back injuries or exposures.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disease of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2010
- Citation
- 1001111
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1001111.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for increased ratings and service connection as the appellant withdrew his appeal prior to a decision being made.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service connection claim for a neck condition and increased rating claim for degenerative disease of the thoracolumbar spine were both denied. The Board found no evidence to support that his current conditions are related to his military service or other service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, as secondary to his service-connected disabilities, should be remanded due to insufficient opinions regarding whether his weight gain and obesity are caused or aggravated by his service-connected conditions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to lack of substantial compliance with previous directives, requiring a VA examination and medical opinion for an evaluation of the Veteran's service-connected degenerative disease of the thoracolumbar spine.
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