The Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for a back disorder is granted. The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for thoracolumbar spine disorder due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that there was not enough evidence to establish a direct relationship between the Veteran’s current back disorders and his military service, but did not rule out other possible causes such as degenerative joint disease or recurrent soft tissue injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disorder, Thoracolumbar spine disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 5, 2018
- Citation
- 18107263
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 18107263.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the initial ratings assigned for psoriatic arthritis of the upper and lower extremities, as well as service connection for a cervical spine disorder, need to be remanded due to incomplete evidence. The Veteran's periods of active duty for training (ADT) and inactive duty for training (IDT) must be confirmed, and all relevant medical records should be obtained.
- Denied
The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disorder is rated at 20 percent prior to September 9, 2020 and 20 percent thereafter. The rating for GERD remains at 10 percent.
- Granted
The Veteran's back disorder is granted a rating of 10 percent, and his chronic kidney disease is granted service connection based on being secondary to his service-connected hypertension.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for thoracolumbar spine disorder, right lower extremity and left lower extremity neurological disorders, and hypertension due to potential in-service exposure. The AOJ is required to develop these issues further.
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