The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back condition, which is presumed to have begun during his active duty due to combat exposure. The right and left knee conditions are remanded for further review.
The deciding factor: Service records show documented complaints of lower back pain during service and post-deployment health assessments, consistent with the circumstances of his service as a parachutist.
- Claimed conditions
- disc herniation L5-S1, lumbosacral arthritis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 15, 2020
- Citation
- A20018603
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 A20018603.
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 service connection for lumbosacral arthritis, finding the evidence did not support a link to service. Service connection was granted for hernia, with the condition first identified after separation from service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hypertension and remanded the claims for bilateral hand, hip, knee, and lumbosacral arthritis to provide further development.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities from December 6, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for lumbosacral arthritis due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran's records, including his military history and treatment records, need to be obtained to determine if his back pain is related to service.
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