The Board granted service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, including arthritis, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
The deciding factor: The VA medical expert opined that the Veteran's current degenerative arthritis was related to his thoracolumbar strain during service, and there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the merits of the issue.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine disability, including arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- March 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25025643
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 service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability and a left shoulder disability as the evidence did not support that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the Veteran's award of service-connected compensation for headaches and remanded claims for increased rating, service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, right shoulder disability, and acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic sinusitis, fibromyalgia, and CFS. The Veteran's hearing loss, lumbar spine disability, radiculopathy, shoulder disability, knee meniscal tear, knee limitation of extension, knee scars, GERD, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and PTSD were also not rated higher than their current levels.
- Granted
The Board granted the restoration of a 30 percent rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy effective June 26, 2023, as the reduction was improper.
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