The Board denied service connection for a low back disability and left ankle disability, finding that the Veteran's lumbar strain pre-existed his entry into service and was not aggravated by service. The claims were also denied as secondary to a service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the Veteran’s lumbar strain clearly and unmistakably preexisted service and was not aggravated during service, thus denying service connection for this disability.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain, degenerative arthritis of the spine, intervertebral disk syndrome (IVDS), spinal stenosis, degenerative disk disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19178801
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 19178801.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine was granted. The claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and residuals of head injuries and concussions are remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for right hand arthritis and left hand arthritis have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating for lumbar strain, radiculopathy of the left sciatic nerve, and radiculopathy of the right sciatic nerve have been remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective date for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) prior to August 8, 2024, and dependency benefits from June 1, 2025, to August 8, 2025, for the school-aged child are both denied.
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