The Board has determined that the Veteran's current back disability is not etiologically related to military service and therefore denied his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records do not document a chronic back disability incurred during service, and VA examiners found no evidence of a link between the Veteran's in-service injuries and his current condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Bilateral radiculopathy and sciatica, Intervertebral disc syndrome, Post-laminectomy syndrome, Arachnoiditis, Spinal stenosis, Disc herniation of the thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2016
- Citation
- 1641807
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 1641807.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability and right leg radiculopathy are granted service connection, but left leg radiculopathy is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran seeks higher initial ratings for his back disability, but the VA examinations from the period under review are inadequate. The Board finds that remand is necessary to obtain an opinion as to the severity and manifestations of the Veteran's back disability during the period under review.
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