The Board has denied service connection for a back disability (degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine) as it is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service. The Board also found that the back disability was not caused or aggravated by the service-connected left knee disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided opinions stating that the Veteran's back disability (degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine) is less likely than not related to his in-service injury or caused or aggravated by his service-connected left t knee disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19139948
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,549 · Granted: 29% (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 19139948.
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 Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine and lumbar spondylosis with multilevel mild and mild-to-moderate neural foraminal stenosis, finding that his back disorder is etiologically related to his active service.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine is dismissed.,Two issues on appeal are remanded: entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent prior to April 23, 2013, and in excess of 50 percent therefrom for obstructive sleep apnea; and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) prior to October 1, 2020.,The issue of an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is denied.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded several claims for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and issuing a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC). The issues include ratings for various disabilities related to TBI, cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, right shoulder, right knee, left carpal tunnel syndrome, right carpal tunnel syndrome, left thumb sprain, right thumb disability, left hip disability, right hip disability, eye disability, ulnar nerve paresthesias, ankle and wrist disabilities, nausea, constipation, and other conditions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's back disability is being remanded for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected condition.
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