The Board has granted service connection for a disability of the thoracolumbar spine, including degenerative disc disease, degenerative joint disease, and spondylosis. However, it denied service connection for thoracic scoliosis.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided conflicting opinions regarding whether the Veteran's current disabilities were caused by his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracic scoliosis, disability of the thoracolumbar spine (including degenerative disc disease, degenerative joint disease, and spondylosis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19135799
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 439 · Granted: 19% (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 19135799.
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 Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for thoracic scoliosis and denied service connection for a left ankle condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for atopic dermatitis, degenerative changes spine and thoracic scoliosis, and migraines due to duty-to-assist errors in prior VA medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete or conflicting opinions regarding the Veteran's back disability. The VA must obtain a new opinion addressing all diagnosed spine disabilities, their likely causes, and whether they are related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for thoracic scoliosis as new and material evidence was not presented, and the condition is considered to have pre-existed his service.
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