The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for lower back pain and cervical spine strain. The evidence submitted since the last final denial supports a finding that these conditions are related to service, including a fall in 2001 and an injury in 2003. Service connection is granted for both conditions.
The deciding factor: The new medical opinion provided reasonable doubt regarding the Veteran's current disabilities being unrelated to his military service, leading to a finding of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar strain, lumbar degenerative disc disease (claimed as lower back pain), cervical spine strain
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20004898
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a rating greater than 10 percent for thoracolumbar strain, as the evidence did not support a higher rating.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss as there was no evidence that it met a compensable level during the period on appeal.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of September 2, 2010, for service connection for radiculopathy of the left and right sciatic nerves but denied increased ratings for these conditions. The claims for increased ratings for knee and back conditions were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical spine strain, left upper extremity peripheral nerve condition, and right upper extremity peripheral nerve condition.
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