The Board has determined that the Veteran's thoracic spine scoliosis is a developmental defect and not attributable to service, thus denying his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding of in-service injury or aggravation leading to current back conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracic spine scoliosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2016
- Citation
- 1614172
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 1614172.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected spinal stenosis, degenerative arthritis, and related conditions are being remanded due to the need for additional development.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder with anxious distress as due to the Veteran's service-connected left hip labral tear with strain and trochanteric pain syndrome, but denied service connection for thoracic spine scoliosis, bilateral hallux valgus, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), left knee strain with patellar tendinitis, and left shoulder strain.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for the Veteran's back disability and lower extremity radiculopathy due to insufficient information regarding the baseline severity of his conditions when discounting the beneficial effects of medication.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain Social Security Administration records related to the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 20% evaluation for degenerative disc disease L5-S1 with lumbosacral strain and thoracic spine scoliosis.
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