The Board has determined that the Veteran's current lumbar spine disability is related to his in-service back injury, and thus service connection for this condition is granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence is evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's current lumbar spine disability is related to his in-service back injury, and therefore reasonable doubt must be resolved in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the spine (lumbar spine disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 13, 2021
- Citation
- 21029398
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 21029398.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 50 percent disability rating for major depressive disorder with anxiety from August 31, 2019, and denied an effective date prior to August 31, 2020, for the grant of service connection and separate ratings for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to additional development being needed, including a new VA examination and updated treatment records.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent, and her PTSD is rated at 70 percent. The appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, TBI, tinnitus, and TDIU are all granted.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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