The Board found that the Veteran's current back disability is not related to his service, specifically the 2003 muscle strain during active duty. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that the disability was incurred or aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: A VA examiner opined that the Veteran's current lower back disability is more likely due to obesity and not related to his in-service injury, as there were no complaints of back pain during active duty and the current symptoms are different from those reported at the time of the 2003 incident.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Strain, Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD), Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 14, 2015
- Citation
- 1516069
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 1516069.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) is being remanded due to a failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination in connection with her claim. The Board finds that this was a pre-decisional duty to assist error and requires rescheduling of the examination.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of August 7, 2023 for the grant of service connection for Degenerative Disc Disease and Intervertebral Disc Syndrome (also claimed as a back condition), and bilateral lower extremity sciatic neuropathy.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative disc disease is related to service and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical spine disability and right upper extremity radiculopathy were denied increased evaluations. The TDIU claim was also denied prior to August 20, 2013.
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