The Board found that the Veteran's chronic back disability did not have its clinical onset during service, arthritis of the spine was not diagnosed within the first post-service year, and there is no evidence to support a finding that his current back disability is otherwise related to active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran's current back problems were less likely as not (less than 50% probability) related to service or had its clinical onset or is otherwise related to service. The examiner explained that there was no evidence to sustain any chronic back disability after separation in 1992.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2013
- Citation
- 1325596
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 1325596.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of whether there was clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in prior rating decisions that denied service connection for various conditions, as an SOC has not yet been issued.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a higher disability rating for the right ankle and service connection for right ear hearing loss and pulmonary lung disability. All other issues were remanded for further evaluation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim for service connection of chronic back disability due to a duty-to-assist error in the October 2003 VA examination. The Veteran's claim is pending and will be reconsidered with an updated medical opinion addressing causation and aggravation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for anemia due to submission of new and relevant evidence. The remaining issues are remanded for further review.
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