The Board denied service connection for a back disorder, finding that the Veteran's current condition is not related to her in-service injury and is more likely due to other factors such as age, genetics, and prior injuries.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found no causal link between the Veteran's current back disability and her in-service complaints or injury.
- Claimed conditions
- multilevel degenerative disc disease, central spinal canal narrowing at the L3-L4 level
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19190035
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 40 percent rating for multilevel degenerative disc disease, but has remanded the issue of entitlement to a higher rating due to lack of proper findings in the reduction process. The case is also remanded for an examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's back disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability rating was restored from 20% to 40%, and he received increased ratings for his right lower extremity myelopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board's October 18, 2018 decision is vacated due to error in finding that the Veteran did not meet the schedular rating requirements for a TDIU on a schedular basis. The case is remanded for further consideration of both schedular and extraschedular TDIU claims.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's request to reopen his claim for service connection for a back disorder. However, it denied the claim as there is no evidence that the current disability is causally related to service.
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