The Board has determined that the Veteran's current back disabilities are related to injuries he sustained during service, and thus grants service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The evidence is in equipoise regarding the etiology of the Veteran's current back disabilities, with opinions from both a private physician and a VA examiner supporting the Veteran's contention that his symptoms began shortly after service and are related to injuries he sustained during service.
- Claimed conditions
- multilevel degenerative disc disease, chronic thoracolumbar myofascial pain syndrome, multilevel lumbar neural foraminal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2013
- Citation
- 1341383
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 1341383.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 service connection claim for a lumbar spine disability should be remanded due to a duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's back disability, diagnosed as multilevel degenerative disc disease and facet arthropathy, finding that it is related to his in-service injury.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for spondylosis with diffuse degenerative arthritis and multilevel degenerative disc disease is dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeal in October 2023.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for scoliosis and granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability. The Veteran's current conditions are attributed to military service.
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