The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disorder, finding no evidence of a relationship between the current condition and his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's lumbar spine disorder was less likely than not related to service due to the nature of the in-service injury being an acute contusion rather than degenerative changes, which were found years after service separation.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine (low back) disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21062274
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, a thoracolumbar spine (low back) disorder, and bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy is dismissed due to the Veteran not submitting an NOD within one year of the rating decision being mailed.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue, GERD, lower-gastrointestinal disorder, low back disorder, right knee disorder, and left knee disorder. However, the claim for varicose veins of the left lower extremity was granted.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including skin disorders, cervical spine disorder, bilateral foot disorder, right knee disorder, left shoulder disorder, acquired mental disorder, hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep disorder, thoracolumbar spine disorder, and left and right hip disorders.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, right knee, and left knee disorders as they are not related to the Veteran's service or a service-connected disability.
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