The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder, finding that the preponderance of evidence did not support a link between his current condition and an in-service event or injury.
The deciding factor: The Board found no credible evidence linking the Veteran’s current back disorder to any incident during active duty, given the lack of contemporaneous medical records documenting complaints or treatment for such a condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20074596
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a back disorder, and a gynecological disorder to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for multiple service-connected conditions and denied service connection for several additional conditions, including tinnitus, chronic sinusitis, left sciatic radicular pain of the left leg, traumatic brain injury (TBI), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue syndrome, and a back disorder.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed mood is rated at 70 percent, but no higher. The claims for service connection for PTSD, a back disorder, and a left hip disorder are remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a rating in excess of 50 percent for adjustment disorder with traumatic brain injury and remanded claims for service connection for back, right foot, and neck disorders.
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