The Veteran's request to reopen the claim for service connection of a back disability is granted. The issue has been remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The evidence received since the July 1999 rating decision includes new diagnoses related to the Veteran's thoracolumbar spine (back) and addresses complaints of back pain in service. A new VA examination is needed to address the etiology of the disability on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- low back strain, degenerative disc disease (DDD), left sacral iliac joint disorder, lumbar spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2020
- Citation
- 20008317
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to follow and secure substantially gainful employment, thus a total disability rating for individual unemployability is granted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) as his service-connected disabilities, while severe, do not render him unable to obtain or maintain a gainful occupation.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, hypothyroidism, prostate cancer, sleep apnea secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, tinea pedis, and lumbar spondylosis.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for degenerative disc disease (DDD) was dismissed by the Veteran in written correspondence.
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