The Board has granted the Veteran's application to reopen his claim for service connection of a low back disability and has determined that service connection is warranted based on continuity of symptomatology since service.
The deciding factor: The evidence established that the Veteran had low back pain during service, which continued after service. The Board found this sufficient to establish service connection as it was related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disk Disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- November 15, 2018
- Citation
- 18150456
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 18150456.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examiner's opinion is inadequate and requires further examination to address the Veteran’s lay statements regarding his service-connected back pain.
- Denied
The Veteran's increased ratings for cervical and lumbar spine disabilities were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable VA Rating Schedule.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's back disability is not related to his service or secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus, and thus denied the claim.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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