The Board denied service connection for a lower back disorder, finding that the Veteran's earliest treatment for this condition occurred many years after his discharge from active duty. The Board concluded there was no evidence of a nexus between the Veteran's current lower back disorder and his time in-service.
The deciding factor: There is no clinical evidence to suggest that the onset of the Veteran’s current lower back disorder is related to his time in-service, and the earliest treatment for a lower back disorder occurred many years after service.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back spasms, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine with arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19190593
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (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 19190593.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lower back spasms, persistent depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. The claim for an earlier effective date of service connection for hypertension is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for various disabilities, including anxiety, depression, cervical spine disability, left shoulder disability, upper and lower back spasms, right knee disability, left knee disability, and left foot disability. The reasons include a lack of service treatment records from the relevant periods.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection of lower back spasms, left and right lower extremity radiculopathy is granted. The claims are remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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.