The Board has determined that the appellant's current back disorder is not related to his military service and has denied his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: A VA medical examiner concluded that the appellant's current lower back disorder was more likely caused by post-service work injuries, rather than any incident during his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of back injury, lumbar disc disease with history left radiculopathy, post discectomy, post laminectomy and fusion surgery
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2013
- Citation
- 1341239
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 1341239.
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 has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of back injury should be remanded due to a failure to provide a VA examination and medical opinion, which is necessary to determine if his current disability is related to his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities from May 13, 1991 through May 11, 2010 was denied. The effective date for the grant of basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35 prior to May 12, 2010 was also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of back injury due to a lack of clarity regarding when and where he received treatment following service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for higher ratings for his service-connected back injury and left knee disability is being remanded due to the inadequacy of previous VA examinations.
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