The Board granted service connection for a low back disability and right elbow lateral epicondylitis based on the Veteran's combat service in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The record does not contain clear and convincing evidence that the Veteran did not acquire chronic low back and right elbow disabilities during active service, and the combat presumption of 1154 (b) pertaining to the in-service incurrence of the claimed disabilities is not rebutted.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) with a lumbosacral strain and intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), Right elbow lateral epicondylitis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- February 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25018640
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 35% (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 A25018640.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and left knee osteoarthritis, but granted service connection for right knee condition and right elbow lateral epicondylitis based on new evidence.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, chronic fatigue syndrome, right elbow lateral epicondylitis, and back pain with bilateral radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The case is on appeal for increased disability ratings and a TDIU. The issues include right ankle, right elbow, and right shoulder disabilities. These matters are REMANDED due to inadequate VA examinations.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including cervical and thoracolumbar spine conditions with associated radiculopathies, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathies, tinnitus, right elbow lateral epicondylitis, right Achilles tendonitis, left and right lower extremity varicose veins, right thumb arthritis, right ear hearing loss, hemangioma of the left scalp, left thigh meralgia paresthetica, right foot metatarsophalangeal arthritis, and right foot scar, are found to be sufficiently severe to render him unable to maintain any form of substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational background. As such, a TDIU is granted.
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