The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for lumbar degenerative joint and disc disease, finding that the evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether his current low back disability was related to an injury sustained during active duty.
The deciding factor: The Board found that while there was no STR documentation of a back condition or injury, the Veteran's statements regarding the incident were credible. The VA examiner opined against service connection due to lack of continuity in STRs and absence of follow-up visits, but the private physician provided an opinion supporting service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative joint and disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2024
- Citation
- 24011349
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 24011349.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability and obstructive sleep apnea were not found to warrant increased ratings or service connection, respectively.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's low back disability and associated lower extremity radicular symptoms are currently rated at 10 percent prior to June 1, 2014, and 40 percent from July 17, 2014. The Board has found that higher ratings are not warranted for either period.,The Veteran's right and left lower extremity radicular symptoms have been rated at 10 percent prior to March 6, 2013, and 20 percent since then. The Board has also found that higher ratings are not warranted for these periods.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's knee and shoulder disabilities are being remanded for further evaluation due to the need for updated VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for lumbar degenerative joint and disc disease, rated as 10 percent disabling prior to June 1, 2014, and as 40 percent disabling beginning July 17, 2014, are remanded. The claim of entitlement to TDIU is also remanded due to its inextricability with the rating issue.
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