The Veteran's current lumbar spine disorder is at least as likely as not related to his active duty service, and the Board finds that he has satisfied the criteria for service connection.
The deciding factor: The Veteran experienced back pain during service and since service separation, which the VA examiner found was consistent with a history of multiple parachute jumps and a jeep accident in August 1969. The Board resolved all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2016
- Citation
- 1609824
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 1609824.
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 Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his low back disability is being remanded due to the reduction in evaluation from 40 percent to 20 percent effective May 31, 2014. The RO needs to provide updated VA treatment records and schedule a VA examination to determine the current severity of the disability.
- Denied
The Board denied extraschedular ratings for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 3, 2011.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and higher initial rating for his back disability is denied. The effective date remains March 29, 2021, as the earliest date of claim. An initial rating in excess of 20 percent for the back disability from March 29, 2021, is also denied.
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