The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of low back, left hip, and right hip conditions due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service. The claim for degenerative joint disease affecting areas other than the thoracolumbar spine and bilateral hips is also denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found no medical evidence supporting a nexus between the Veteran's current diagnoses (low back, left hip, and right hip) and any incident of active service, including his diagnosis of German measles/rubella in 1943.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of thoracolumbar spine, Osteoarthritis of left hip, Osteoarthritis of right hip
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2022
- Citation
- 22069666
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 22069666.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 the Veteran's right hip disability, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury and granting a rating of 100%.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical spine strain is currently rated at 20 percent, but does not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to lack of limitation of motion or ankylosis.,The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine strain with degenerative joint disease is currently rated at 20 percent, and also does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Denied
The Veteran's back disability is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board finds that it does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation based on the evidence of record.
- Granted
The Board has found that the Veteran does have a current diagnosis of PTSD based on his claimed in-service stressor, which is related to service. Therefore, service connection for PTSD is granted.
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