The Board has granted service connection for DDD of the lumbar spine at L4-L5 with spondylosis, finding that the Veteran's current disability is related to her in-service motor vehicle accident.,The Board also granted service connection for DDC and DJD of the cervical spine, concluding that the Veteran's current condition is linked to her active duty service.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows a history of back pain during service, with ongoing symptomatology post-service. The VA examiner opined that the current lumbar spine disability was less likely caused by the in-service motor vehicle accident, but acknowledged the Veteran's consistent reports of onset and continuity of symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine at L4-L5 with spondylosis, DDC and Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20001195
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 20001195.
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
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