The Board finds that the Veteran's lay statements concerning the onset and continuity of his symptomatology, coupled with the medical records reflecting in-service musculoskeletal changes and a current low back disability to include arthritis, places the evidence at least in a state of relative equipoise. Therefore, service connection for a low back disability is granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lay statements concerning the onset and continuity of his symptomatology, coupled with medical records reflecting in-service musculoskeletal changes and current low back disability to include arthritis, places the evidence at least in a state of relative equipoise.
- Claimed conditions
- Low Back Disability (including arthritis), Spondylolisthesis at L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2017
- Citation
- 1712663
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 1712663.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for a low back disability, concluding that his current condition did not begin during active service and was not related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to conflicting evidence regarding the Veteran's flare-ups and their impact on his spondylolisthesis disability. The VA examiner is required to provide a retrospective medical opinion estimating the additional degrees of motion lost due to flare-ups since June 2014.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current low back disability, including arthritis, is related to his military service and grants entitlement to service connection for this condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including her psychiatric disorder and spondylolisthesis at L5-S1, prevent her from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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