The Veteran's back disability, diagnosed as arthritis, had its onset during service and has been continuous since separation. The Board granted service connection for the back disability based on direct evidence.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current diagnosis of arthritis was related to a back injury sustained in service, which required surgery, and there were no contemporaneous medical records post-service until 2015 when symptoms reappeared. The Board resolved doubt in favor of the Veteran's claim based on his competent and credible lay reports.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis of the lumbar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 15, 2021
- Citation
- 21074401
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 21074401.
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
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- Granted
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