The Board finds that the Veteran's lumbar spine disability was not incurred or aggravated by active service, and is not secondary to his service-connected psychiatric disability. The claim for service connection is denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection due to lack of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury, nor does it support a finding of secondary service connection based on medication prescribed for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability. The Board also finds that there is no evidence of radiation exposure and thus cannot establish presumptive service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(d).
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, DDD (degenerative disc disease), DJD (degenerative joint disease)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2013
- Citation
- 1308566
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 1308566.
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 Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. Service connection is being remanded for the lumbar spine disability and right knee and calf disabilities.
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