The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability, including arthritis, degenerative disc disease (DDD), radiculopathy, and spondylosis. The decision is based on continuity of symptomatology since service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's lay statements and medical opinions supported a finding of continuity of back symptoms from his in-service injury, which established service connection via direct service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine disability, arthritis, degenerative disc disease (DDD), radiculopathy, spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19165140
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 19165140.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to DIC due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion prior to the rating decision on appeal regarding whether the Veteran's arthritis was related to his period of active service, and if so, whether it contributed to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disabilities due to a predecisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's past medical history needs to be considered in the new examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's cervical spine disorder and an incomplete record of chiropractic care. The Veteran is requested to provide or authorize VA to obtain his treatment records from chiropractors, and an addendum opinion will be provided by a VA examiner.
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