The Veteran's claim of service connection for a low back disorder is dismissed. The increased rating claim for his upper back muscle strain is denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for an increased rating.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran had additional functional loss due to pain, weakness, or lack of endurance during flare-ups, and there was no medical opinion indicating that the Veteran's disability more closely approximated a higher rating than 20 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disorder, Upper back muscle strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- September 26, 2018
- Citation
- 18139114
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 18139114.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, bilateral knee disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder, finding that the evidence did not show an in-service onset or relationship to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to duty to assist errors prior to the rating decision on appeal. The Veteran is not prejudiced as a remand is necessary to correct these errors.
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