The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbar spine disability, finding that new evidence submitted since the prior denial supports a determination of service connection. The decision is based on the Veteran's credible lay statements and VA treatment records indicating continuous back symptoms since an in-service injury.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's current diagnosed lumbar spine disability had its onset during active duty, supported by his competent and credible lay statements of continuous back symptoms since the documented in-service injury.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease L4-S1, L4-L5 disc bulge, S1 and S2 nerve root impingement (lumbar spine disability)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2024
- Citation
- A24074197
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A24074197.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claims for an effective date prior to November 22, 2021, for total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and dependency and indemnity compensation (DEA). The Board found that there was no evidence showing the Veteran could not maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection of L4-L5 disc bulge, finding that new and material evidence was not submitted.
- Granted
The Board granted increased ratings to 20 percent for the veteran's service-connected cervical and lumbar spine disabilities, effective September 26, 2003.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
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