The Board found that the Veteran's back condition was not present during service and did not manifest until many years after service. The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection or secondary service connection.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing an in-service injury or disease related to the claimed conditions, nor any evidence linking the current conditions to service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- focal L5-S1 disc disease, lumbosacral facet arthropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 8, 2015
- Citation
- 1538259
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 1538259.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted a TDIU on an extraschedular basis for the period prior to May 31, 2016 due to service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's rheumatoid arthritis is presumed via PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities met the schedular criteria for a TDIU from December 10, 2020. The Board remanded the matter of entitlement to a TDIU prior to that date.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar facet arthropathy has been rated at 10 percent prior to May 19, 2016, and increased to 40 percent from that date. The Board found the evidence supported a higher rating due to significant functional impairment.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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