The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's residuals of herniated disk of the lumbar spine, including degenerative disk disease and lower left extremity radiculopathy, finding that these conditions are due to his in-service heavy lifting.
The deciding factor: The opinion of Dr. A.I., who opined that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's chronic back pain, degenerative disk disease L4-S1 residuals, were due to his heavy lifting while working in aviation ordinance during service, was more probative than the VA examiner's opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of herniated disk of the lumbar spine, degenerative disk disease (DDD), lower left extremity (LLE) radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19178807
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (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 19178807.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for bilateral dry eye syndrome but denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome and pelvic floor disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to inadequate VA examinations and issues of inextricably intertwined claims.
- Denied
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to an inaccurate opinion and missing records, requiring a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current back disorder is related to his service.
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