The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability, to include lumbosacral strain, finding that there is no evidence of such disability being incurred or aggravated during active service. The Board also found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection due to his meningitis and subsequent spinal tap procedures.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided sound medical explanations and rationales stating that the Veteran's lumbar spine disability was not caused by any in-service injury, event, or illness. The examiner noted that there is no evidence of delayed onset of low back pain following a lumbar puncture and stated that the only side effect of the procedure were spinal headaches.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, lumbosacral strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2024
- Citation
- 24016430
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 24016430.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
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