The Veteran's claims for service connection and higher ratings were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, as there was no competent, probative opinion linking it to his service. For other conditions, the evidence supported the current assigned disability ratings.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions were against the Veteran's claims for service connection and higher ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, Atrophy of the left lower extremity, Left shin scar, Chin scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2017
- Citation
- 1715692
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 1715692.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy were denied. The Board found that no claim was received prior to July 15, 2021 and thus the proper effective date is July 15, 2021.,The Veteran also sought an earlier effective date for his left lower extremity radiculopathy, which was similarly denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is remanded due to concerns about the adequacy of a previous examination report, which did not include measurements using a goniometer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a procedural error in failing to provide the Veteran with notice of a scheduled hearing. The Veteran must be provided with a hearing before the matter can be reconsidered.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the issue of entitlement to a Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) was not before it in its August 2024 decision. The case is now remanded for further adjudication.
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