The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for low back pain as secondary to his already service-connected left ankle triple arthrodesis, finding that there is no medical nexus between the two conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s low back pain was not caused by or a result of his left ankle fusion and noted risk factors such as smoking, obesity, age, and work history as more likely causes.
- Claimed conditions
- low back pain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19196738
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 19196738.
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
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Partly granted
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- Dismissed
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