The Board has determined that the Veteran's chronic lumbar strain, diagnosed as a current disability, had its onset during service and is related to his in-service back injury. As such, the claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disorder is granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran reported experiencing a back injury during service which led to intermittent back flare-ups since 2000. A private physician's opinion supported this history with a diagnosis of chronic lumbar strain and provided an etiology linking it to the in-service incident. The VA examiner also agreed that the current condition is related to the in-service event, despite noting some uncertainty regarding whether the Veteran's spondylolysis was congenital or caused by service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- December 15, 2016
- Citation
- 1646988
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 1646988.
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 remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various hip and lower extremity disorders, including as secondary to a lumbar spine disorder. The case is being returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to errors in obtaining relevant medical records and authorization for private treatment providers. The issues include heart disorder, OSA, sinusitis, lumbar spine disorder, and right knee disorder all related to Agent Orange exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's request to readjudicate his claims for service connection for a lumbar spine disorder and obstructive sleep apnea, but denied his claim for right knee disorder. The Board also remanded the cases of left leg disorder and lumbar spine disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, right upper extremity nerve condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, headache condition, right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right elbow condition, left elbow condition, right shoulder condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), bilateral pes planus, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder.
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