The Board found that the Veteran's current low back disorder is not related to his military service, including a January 1988 injury. The claim for service connection was denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner stated that the Veteran's current condition was due to degenerative disc disease with radiculopathy, but it was 'very hard' for the examiner to make any connection of the Veteran's current pathology of lumbosacral spine to the one episode of mechanical mid back pain of January 1988.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease with L4-5 radiculopathy on the left
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2013
- Citation
- 1334260
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 1334260.
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
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- Denied
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- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
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