The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a low back disorder and granted it as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected fracture of the right 5th metatarsal. The evidence shows that the current low back disorder is related to his in-service injury, but not directly due to military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s current low back disorder is at least as likely as not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected fracture of the right 5th metatarsal and his pre-existing foot disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Low Back Disorder (Degenerative Disc Disease)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19185818
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (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 19185818.
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 VA determined that the Veteran's low back disorder is not related to his service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's current low back disorder, identified as degenerative disc disease, is causally related to service and grants service connection for this condition.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
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.