The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability, to include degenerative disc disease (DDD), and also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to March 14, 2016.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's current lumbar spine disability was incurred in or aggravated by active service, including during ACDUTRA in 1978. The earliest objective evidence of back pain and diagnosis of DDD appeared decades after separation from service, and there was no contemporaneous documentation to corroborate the reported injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, to include degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2025
- Citation
- 25004092
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