The Board found no evidence of a lower back condition during or within one year after service, and the Veteran's current condition is not shown to be related to his military service. The Veteran's TDIU claim was also denied as his disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of a chronic back condition during service and noted that the first objective evidence of lower back pain occurred 30 years after separation, which is inconsistent with a service connection claim based on continuity of symptomatology. The Veteran's current degenerative conditions are attributed to intercurrent factors such as obesity.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back condition, degenerative arthritis of the spine, lumbar spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2018
- Citation
- 1805170
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 1805170.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a deviated septum and right wrist pain, while denying service connection for sleep apnea. The decision also addressed various rating issues and effective dates.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a right leg condition, sinusitis, lower back condition, and joint pain as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a lower back condition, bilateral hip condition, and paralysis (claimed as a bilateral sciatic nerve condition) to obtain additional evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, bilateral pes planus (flat feet), bilateral ankle condition, bilateral knee condition, and lower back condition as there was no evidence of a current disability or that the disabilities were related to the Veteran's military service.
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