The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for a low back disability and remanded the downstream service connection claim. The new evidence received since the June 1995 rating decision tends to show that the Veteran has a current low back disability related to injuries in service, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claim.
The deciding factor: The new evidence includes updated private records documenting diagnoses of degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine and a Social Security Administration award letter indicating the Veteran is currently receiving SSA benefits for his lumbar DDD and a psychiatric disability. The evidence relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim, raising a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 12, 2016
- Citation
- 1614743
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 1614743.
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 Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability was granted with an effective date of January 9, 2018. The Board accepted her November 21, 2019 VA Form 20-0996 as a valid opt-in of the April 2019 SOC into the modernized review system.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal concerning diabetes and a low back disability has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
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