The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is found to have originated in service, and he is granted service connection. The left shoulder disability is also found to be related to service. Service connection for a skin disability due to exposure to burn pits is granted. Service connection for prostate cancer is denied.
The deciding factor: Service records show the Veteran experienced chronic back pain since his initial injury in service, and he has provided credible testimony regarding ongoing symptoms since then. The VA examiner found that the current degenerative changes are less likely than not related to his military service, but did not provide a reasoned explanation for this conclusion.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbar Spine Disability, Left Shoulder Disability, Skin Disability, Prostate Cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2018
- Citation
- 1801002
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 1801002.
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 service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of March 15, 2023, for a 40 percent evaluation for service-connected prostate cancer and earlier dates for the awards of service connection for anterior and posterior trunk scars.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, a low back disability, a left knee disability, and a left shoulder disability as there was no evidence to support that these conditions were incurred in or caused by the Veteran's military service.
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