The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis with spondylosis Schmorl's node, lumbar spine with thoracic degenerative disc disease, as secondary to his service-connected right femur stress fracture.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided a strong rationale linking the low back disability to the service-connected right femur stress fracture and supporting that the Veteran's gait changes due to the fracture aggravated his pre-existing lumbar spine condition.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis, spondylosis Schmorl's node, lumbar spine with thoracic degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2024
- Citation
- A24051260
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 A24051260.
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 restored the Veteran's rating for his right elbow condition from 10 percent to 20 percent effective May 5, 2025, finding that the evidence was in equipoise regarding whether there had been improvement in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates of January 13, 2020 for the service connection of low back disability and related radiculopathy issues. The Veteran's claims were reopened due to new evidence submitted in January 2020.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, finding that it is related to his in-service injury. The claimant did not contest this decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to predecisional duty-to-assist errors, including inadequate medical opinions and missed VA examinations. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition is being returned to the RO for further action.
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