The Board found that the Veteran's current lumbar spine disorder is not related to his service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The examiner determined that the December 1969 back strain did not lead to any subsequent low back disability or neuropathy in service, and therefore could not be causally linked to the Veteran's current condition.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD), bilateral radiculopathy, postlaminectomy syndrome, facet arthropathy, spinal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 14, 2012
- Citation
- 1220931
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 1220931.
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
The Veteran's service connection claims for degenerative disc disease, intervertebral disc syndrome, spinal stenosis, and bilateral lower extremity sciatica have been granted as they are related to his active duty service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability, diagnosed as lumbar strain, spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, is causally related to service. As such, service connection for this condition is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis with intervertebral disc syndrome to include spinal stenosis and lumbar scoliosis, right knee total arthroplasty, and left knee strain are all granted service connection as directly related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for TDIU prior to October 18, 2018 due to a lack of evidence showing that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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