The Veteran's current lumbar spine disability, including DDD and DJD, is considered to have had its onset during his active military service. The Board finds that the evidence supports a finding of service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by VA examiners in October 2009 and August 2015 support the conclusion that the Veteran's current lumbar spine disability is related to his in-service injury during boot camp, which resulted in back pain. The progression of DDD from an early x-ray finding suggests a continuity of symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), degenerative joint disease (DJD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- November 17, 2017
- Citation
- 1753055
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 1753055.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error regarding the service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, including as aggravated by service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for initial ratings of her left shoulder strain and cervical spine disability due to new evidence or further clarification from the AOJ.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for right shoulder disability, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active service.
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