The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability, finding that there was no credible evidence of continuity of symptomatology and no relationship between any current low back disability and his military service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not present credible lay assertions sufficient to establish a continuity of symptomatology referable to the claimed low back disability following service, and his currently-shown low back disability is not related to any incident during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Osteoarthritis, Degenerative Disc Disease, Herniated Disc
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2013
- Citation
- 1327858
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 1327858.
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 PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error and requires an additional VA examination for the Veteran's back disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found new and relevant evidence in support of the Veteran's previously denied service-connection claim for a back condition to include degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease. The case is being remanded for further review.
- Denied
The Veteran's right knee strain with osteoarthritis is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted based on current evidence.
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