The Board has determined that the Veteran's back spasms and thoracic myofascial strain are related to his active service, granting service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The evidence is in relative equipoise regarding whether the Veteran’s back condition is related to his active service, with all reasonable doubts resolved in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- back spasms, thoracic myofascial strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19183239
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,893 · Granted: 31% (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 19183239.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's back spasms are granted as secondary to his service-connected left and right knee conditions, and he is awarded a separate 10 percent rating for instability of the left knee.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back spasms, confusion/memory loss, depression, fatty tumors on back, and head injury as there is no current diagnosis or in-service event to support these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for back spasms, left rotator cuff condition, and right knee condition to correct duty to assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claims for service connection for sleeplessness, chronic fatigue syndrome, and nephrotic syndrome with chronic kidney disease for readjudication due to new and relevant evidence. The claim for a left leg condition was denied as no new and relevant evidence was received.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.