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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 23% (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 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 Veteran's claim for service connection for back condition was denied in a June 1996 Board decision. The Veteran filed an intent to file a claim form and submitted a formal application on August 30, 2023, which resulted in the award of service connection with an initial rating of 40% effective from that date.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of August 14, 2024 for the award of a 40 percent rating for service-connected chronic compression fracture at T7 with lumbar spondylosis and thoracolumbar strain.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine strain, thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease and lumbosacral strain (back conditions), left lower extremity pain, right lower extremity pain, left shoulder strain, and right hip pain. The evidence does not show a nexus between these conditions and active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's request for special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance of another person is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. A VA examination is needed to determine if his service-connected disabilities require regular aid and attendance.
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