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
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for both a lower back condition and a cervical spine condition, finding that the evidence did not support a nexus between these conditions and service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine was granted. The claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and residuals of head injuries and concussions are remanded.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lower back condition, including thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease other than IVDS. The decision finds that the Veteran's current disability is causally related to his military service due to an accident during training in 1963.
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