The Board has determined that the Veteran's current lumbar spine disability is related to his service and granted service connection for mechanical back pain and degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine.
The deciding factor: The private opinion provided a nexus between the Veteran's current condition and an in-service injury, which was more persuasive than the VA examiner's finding that there was no mention of back pain in his STRs.
- Claimed conditions
- mechanical back pain, degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2021
- Citation
- A21017909
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 A21017909.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for various rating and service connection claims due to the Veteran's death.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral tinnitus is granted as service-connected.,Service connection for alcohol use disorder is denied.,A disability rating of 100% (total) is granted for PTSD, effective from the date of this decision.,A disability rating of 100% (total) is granted for degenerative disc disease of the thoracolumbar spine, effective from the date of this decision.
- Dismissed
The appeal concerning the revisions of evaluations for various conditions and special monthly compensation has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Denied
The Board has denied the claim of service connection for a lumbar spine disability, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the current condition and active duty service.
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