The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back injury, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease and that the current condition did not meet the criteria for direct service connection.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran's back injury could not be presumed to have occurred during service due to lack of documentation and because arthritis must manifest within one year of discharge. The Board also found no evidence of a nexus between the current disability and any service-connected condition or an event, injury, or disease in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Back injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19120797
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19120797.
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: Granted
The Veteran's ambulance expenses incurred on September 26, 2024 for medical treatment of a back injury are granted as the condition constituted an emergency and travel by ambulance was medically required. The Board found that the Veteran is unable to defray the cost.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection of back, left knee, and right knee injuries due to a lack of VA examinations.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues for further development, including obtaining additional evidence and an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's character of discharge and service connection claims.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, claimed as depression and a right knee condition. The claims for left knee condition, back injury, hypertension, headaches, sleep apnea, and surgical complications of pregnancy were remanded.
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