The Veteran's lumbar and cervical spine disabilities are granted service connection. The respiratory disability is denied, and the left wrist and gastrointestinal disabilities are remanded for further evaluation.
The deciding factor: Service records show incidents of back pain during service which led to current diagnoses of arthritis in both lumbar and cervical spines. For the respiratory issue, there was no evidence linking current COPD to service events or conditions. The left wrist condition is related to a shrapnel injury, but the VA examiner's opinion did not consider all relevant evidence including the Veteran’s lay statements about the incident. The gastrointestinal issues are secondary to NSAIDs used for other service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 21, 2018
- Citation
- 18112702
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 18112702.
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 claims of service connection for cervical spine and skin rash disabilities, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to active military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
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