The Veteran's low back and upper back disabilities are found to be related to his active service, while the skin condition is not. The Board has granted service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The private examiner provided strong evidence that the Veteran’s current degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine and cervical strain are related to his in-service injuries, but the VA examiner found no causal relationship between the Veteran's current skin condition and his in-service diagnosis of rubella.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine, Cervical strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- April 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20025877
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 20025877.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for cervical strain, service connection for left leg pain (claimed as joint pain), and service connection for a left ear hearing condition are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Granted
The Veteran's back disability is rated at 40 percent prior to January 13, 2022. Effective March 18, 2020, the Veteran is granted TDIU.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cervical strain, low back disability, bilateral upper extremity peripheral nerve disability, and bilateral lower extremity peripheral nerve disability. The conditions are related to the Veteran's active service.
- Granted
Service connection for PTSD, to include depression is granted.,Service connection for blisters of bilateral feet is denied.,Service connection for cervical strain is denied.,Service connection for headaches is denied.,Service connection for right shoulder rotator cuff injury is denied.,Service connection for chest injury and lumbar strain are remanded.
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