The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that the current condition did not have onset during service and is not otherwise related to service.
The deciding factor: The weight of the lay and medical evidence showed that the current lumbar spine disability did not have onset during service and was not otherwise related to active service, including the acute onset low back pain during service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative disc disease, low back pain, posttraumatic pain with left leg radiculitis, lumbar spondylolisthesis, lumbar spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2020
- Citation
- 20071723
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for the Veteran's lumbar degenerative disc disease, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the claimant.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeal of all claims currently pending before the Board, including those for an earlier effective date for hypothyroidism and higher ratings for various conditions.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection and initial ratings were dismissed due to an untimely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) being filed more than one year after the November 2022 rating decision.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a lumbar spine disability was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement.
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