The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease and no continuity of symptoms since separation. The Board also found that the arthritis did not have onset during active service or within the presumptive period following service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' opinions were persuasive as they considered known medical principles, available medical literature, and applied it to the specific facts of this matter regarding the Veteran's in-service occupation requiring significant heavy lifting and lack of evidence of any back issues during active service or within one year of discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- low back arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20002054
Veterans Law Judge
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 20002054.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for low back arthritis, bilateral knee arthritis, and left hip arthritis due to inadequate medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for low back arthritis, left knee arthritis, and left hip arthritis. The issues of service connection for sciatic nerve pain, high blood pressure, and right arm skin cancer are remanded due to the failure to obtain VA examinations or opinions.
- Granted
The veteran is granted an effective date of August 5, 2021 for a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) based on service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the veteran's left knee arthritis, low back arthritis, and right wrist arthritis. The veteran's claims were based on injuries sustained during active duty.
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