The Veteran's lumbar strain with degenerative disc disease is related to his active service and the claim for service connection has been granted.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s back disorders are less likely than not incurred in or caused by a fall during service, but acknowledged the Veteran's lay statements of an in-service injury. The Board affords significant probative weight to this opinion as it considered the Veteran's medical records and STRs.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- November 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20075795
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 20075795.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for right hand arthritis and left hand arthritis have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating for lumbar strain, radiculopathy of the left sciatic nerve, and radiculopathy of the right sciatic nerve have been remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar strain and lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome with left sciatica. The right lower extremity sciatica claim is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability, diagnosed as lumbar strain, spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, is causally related to service. As such, service connection for this condition is granted.
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