The Board has determined that the Veteran's thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease was not incurred during service and is not related to any in-service injury or disease. The claim for this condition is therefore denied.
The deciding factor: There is no objective evidence of a low back disability during active service, and the current diagnosis is attributed to natural aging processes rather than an in-service event.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 29, 2015
- Citation
- 1527586
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1527586.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected conditions have caused him to be in need of regular aid and attendance, which has been granted for special monthly compensation (SMC).
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease, finding the evidence to be in approximate balance regarding its relation to an in-service injury.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew all pending claims and chose to pursue subsequently filed supplemental claims for the same conditions.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the veteran's back disability but remanded the case to reassess the rating.
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