The Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine, is related to his service. The Board found that reasonable doubt was resolved in favor of the Veteran and granted service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The Board determined there was medical evidence both supporting and opposing the claim, along with the Veteran's credible testimony regarding the onset of his chronic back symptoms during service, leading to a finding of service connection based on direct service connection theory.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the Lumbar Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 28, 2018
- Citation
- 18129948
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 18129948.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and associated bilateral lower extremity radiculopathies rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from June 30, 2006, onward. The Board granted a 20% disability rating for the period on appeal (not including any periods of convalescence) due to severe muscle spasm and guarding resulting in abnormal gait or spinal contour.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ's decision denying service connection for OSA, claimed as secondary to service-connected psychiatric disorder and DDD of the lumbar spine, is flawed due to a failure to consider whether obesity was an intermediate step in the development of OSA. The case is being remanded to obtain an addendum medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD symptoms more nearly approximate the criteria for a 70 percent rating, warranting an increased rating.,Service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD) and degenerative arthritis is remanded due to insufficient evidence in the record.,The Veteran's current employment status does not affect his entitlement to service connection for DDD and degenerative arthritis.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and a lower back disorder, finding that the obesity aggravated by the service-connected left knee disability was a substantial factor in causing these conditions.
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