The Board has determined that new material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for a low back disability, claimed as status surgical changes with L4-5 discectomy. The Veteran's low back disability is related to his active duty service.,The issue of entitlement to increased disability ratings for a bilateral knee disability has been withdrawn by the Veteran.
The deciding factor: New evidence received since the March 2009 rating decision includes private treatment records from October 2014 that show ongoing testing and treatment for a low back disability, which raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20022616
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 20022616.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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 found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability was granted with an effective date of January 9, 2018. The Board accepted her November 21, 2019 VA Form 20-0996 as a valid opt-in of the April 2019 SOC into the modernized review system.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal concerning diabetes and a low back disability has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
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