The Board has granted service connection for lower back arthritis and degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine, finding that new evidence supports a link to military service. The Veteran's contentions regarding his in-service activities have been considered, along with medical opinions.
The deciding factor: A private clinician opined that the Veteran's military training likely led to chronic low back pain, which is now found to be related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back arthritis, degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 13, 2023
- Citation
- 23056117
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 23056117.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine and radiculopathy affecting both upper and lower extremities, while dismissing the claim for cervicogenic headaches.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for Parkinson's disease, upper back arthritis, lower back arthritis, right shoulder arthritis, and left shoulder arthritis are remanded due to the need for a TERA examination and opinion under the PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for higher ratings for various knee and shoulder conditions due to inadequate medical opinions in previous examinations. The Veteran is required to provide additional evidence, and VA will schedule further examinations.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine, right upper extremity radiculopathy, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, and right lower extremity radiculopathy, have resulted in a combined rating of 60 percent as of March 15, 2019. The Board has granted an earlier effective date for TDIU to this point.
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