The Board has granted the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for chronic low back disability and has determined that he is entitled to this benefit. The Board found that there was sufficient evidence to establish a link between the Veteran's current condition and his military service, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran had multiple complaints of lower back pain during service and post-service medical records supported a diagnosis of chronic low back disability. The VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s current degenerative disability was due to continuous stresses from military service, which caused his condition.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic low back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19121673
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19121673.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran has withdrawn their appeal, effectively dismissing the case.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to concerns about the competency of the VA medical examiner who provided a negative nexus opinion regarding the Veteran's low back disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions and failure to comply with previous remand directives. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a chronic low back disability is now before the RO for further review.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate development and need for an addendum medical opinion. The Veteran's claim of service connection for a chronic low back disability is now pending.
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