The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain, to include degenerative arthritis with spondylolisthesis, finding that there was no evidence of a direct link between his current condition and his active military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s low back condition is less likely than not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain, degenerative arthritis with spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2019
- Citation
- A19002656
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 A19002656.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right leg sciatica with radiculopathy pain and paresthesia, but denied increased ratings for PTSD, lumbosacral strain, left wrist limitation of motion with ganglion cyst, and service connection for headaches, unspecified. Several issues were remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a disability rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus and a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbosacral strain, but granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy.
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