The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection as his back condition pre-existed active duty and was not aggravated by service. The evidence showed that he had scoliosis before entering military service, and there is no clear and unmistakable evidence to rebut this presumption.
The deciding factor: The pre-existing condition (scoliosis) did not worsen during service, thus the Veteran cannot establish service connection for his current back condition.
- Claimed conditions
- status post lower thoracic spine compression deformities, left-sided radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2018
- Citation
- 18114939
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 18114939.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's service-connected low back strain and its relationship to his current diagnoses. The issues of increased rating for recurrent low back strain and service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy are being returned to VA for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Veteran meets the schedular criteria for a TDIU and after affording him the benefit of the doubt, his service-connected disabilities preclude him from securing substantially gainful employment.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment, as the VA examiners found that his disabilities allow for sedentary work.
- Denied
The Board denied a separate compensable rating for left-sided radiculopathy, finding that it is not associated with or etiologically related to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar paravertebral myositis.
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