The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lower back disability, finding that it is presumed to have been incurred in service due to chronic symptoms during and after service.
The deciding factor: The Board found an approximate balance of evidence supporting a continuity of symptomatology from service up to present day, including medical records documenting consistent reports of lower back pain prior to the 2009 L5-S1 disc microdiscectomy.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back disability, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), arthritic changes
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- March 9, 2022
- Citation
- 22013314
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 22013314.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to reconsider the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip, left knee, right hip, and lower back disabilities. The claim for left hip disability is remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left knee and lower back disabilities due to incomplete information about the Veteran's duty status during his periods of active service in the National Guard and Reserves.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lower back disability, finding that it is etiologically related to his in-service duties of lifting heavy equipment.
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