The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back and hip disability, finding that there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not show that the Veteran injured his back and hip in a fall during service and weighs against finding that the current disabilities began during service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disease of the lumbar spine, Chronic hip and back pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 7, 2018
- Citation
- 18133048
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18133048.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy on the basis of CUE in the February 1996 rating decision have been denied. The May 2022 rating decision is also dismissed as it failed to grant service connection.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis and continuous low back symptomology since separation from service are sufficient to meet the criteria for presumptive service connection.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including degenerative diseases of the cervical and lumbar spine, radiculopathies affecting various extremities, OSA, hepatic steatosis, and supraventricular arrhythmia.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an initial evaluation higher than 10 percent for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine and left leg pain associated with the lumbar spine, as well as a TDIU rating. The VA will obtain retrospective opinions to assess the Veteran's conditions from October 2009 to May 2018, and may refer the claim for an extraschedular TDIU if not granted based on schedular criteria.
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