The Board has denied service connection for a lower back disorder, finding that the Veteran's current degenerative arthritis of the spine is not related to his active military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no relationship between the Veteran's in-service complaint of lower back pain and his current diagnosed condition, which came 30 years after service ended.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2021
- Citation
- 21064505
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 21064505.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine and left knee traumatic arthritis have been dismissed as he withdrew his appeal prior to a scheduled hearing.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, PTSD, and degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, finding that it was incurred during active duty.
- Whole decision: Granted
Service connection for a lumbar spine disability currently diagnosed as degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, lumbar spondylosis, and degeneration of lumbar intervertebral disc is granted.,Service connection for fibromyalgia is granted. Effective October 30, 2015, a rating of 50 percent, but no higher, for tension headaches is granted.,Effective October 30, 2015, the effective date for service connection for TMJ (claimed as right jaw) is set at July 13, 2004. A TDIU is also granted.
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