The Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine with herniated discs at C5-6-7 and bulging discs at T8-9 and L3-4-5 is found to have manifested as a result of active military service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran reported chronic back pain since his in-service injury in 1985, which was supported by lay statements. A private physician provided an opinion linking the current disability to the in-service injury, and this opinion was considered more probative than the VA examiner's limited analysis.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, Herniated discs at C5-6-7, Bulging discs at T8-9 and L3-4-5
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2012
- Citation
- 1218363
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 1218363.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that there is no nexus between the current disability and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical and lumbar spine disabilities prior to October 22, 2008 are being remanded due to the need for additional retrospective medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
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