The Veteran's low back disorders are not considered service-connected, as they are not shown to be related to his active duty or a presumptive condition. The Board found no evidence of aggravation by the service-connected left femur and/or left knee disability.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing that the Veteran's current low back disorders were incurred in or aggravated by service, nor does there appear to be any link between his service-connected left femur and left knee disabilities and his current lumbar spine conditions. The VA examiner found no increase or aggravation of the Veteran's low back disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the lumbar spine, Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, Annular tear of L3-L4 disc
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2013
- Citation
- 1311900
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 1311900.
What this means for you
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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 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.
- 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.
- 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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