The Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease and low back disability have been granted. The Veteran was diagnosed with coronary artery disease, which is presumed due to his in-country Vietnam service exposure to herbicides. For the low back disability claim, the Board found that while there was no evidence of a chronic condition during service or within one year post-service, the Veteran's current degenerative joint and disc disease can be linked to his reported injury in service lifting heavy drums.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided an opinion linking the Veteran's current low back disability to his reported injury in service lifting heavy drums, which was considered credible evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, low back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- February 11, 2014
- Citation
- 1406240
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 1406240.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction is granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty in Korea.
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