The Veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability has been reopened and granted. A combined maximum initial 30 percent rating is assigned for scars of the mid sternum, epigastric region, and right leg.
The deciding factor: New evidence received more than one year after the April 1971 denial was found to be material as it provided a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, which raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for service connection. The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's current back disability is not related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Scars
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- August 9, 2018
- Citation
- 18125268
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 18125268.
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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