The Veteran's back disability is granted service connection. Service connection for left and right hammertoe disorders are denied, as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions. Service connection for gastroesophageal disorder (gastritis) is granted.
The deciding factor: Service connection established for the Veteran’s back disability due to a diagnosed condition related to his military service. The denial of service connection for left and right hammertoe disorders was based on lack of current diagnosis, while service connection for gastritis was granted as it has been present since active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability (DDD of the lumbosacral spine), left foot hammertoe disorder, right foot hammertoe disorder, gastroesophageal disorder (gastritis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- July 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19153066
Veterans Law Judge
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 19153066.
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.
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The Board has granted service connection for a skin disorder (eczema) and a gastroesophageal disorder (gastritis), finding that the Veteran's conditions are at least as likely as not related to his military service.
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- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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