The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability was reopened, and the Board found that new evidence supports a finding of secondary service connection. The current back disability is not related to active service or the service-connected left leg disability.
The deciding factor: The April 2012 VA medical opinion suggested a possible relationship between an in-service fall and subsequent back symptoms, but this was based on inaccurate factual premises and speculative language.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18111776
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 18111776.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for a back disability due to incomplete service records and failure to consider all available evidence, including in-service treatment records from F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
- Granted
The Veteran's rating for residuals status post lumbar fusion was reduced from 40 percent to 20 percent effective October 25, 2023. The reduction was granted as there was no evidence of actual improvement in the Veteran's condition prior to this date.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disability is being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors and the need for a VA examination.
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