The Board denied service connection for chronic low back pain and remanded the claims for left and right hand injuries due to a lack of evidence supporting their service connection.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's chronic low back pain was not shown to be caused by an event, injury, or illness during active service. For the hands, the Board found that there were duty-to-assist errors that occurred prior to the January 2024 rating decision and required a remand for a TERA medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic low back pain, left Dupuytren's contracture (left hand), right Dupuytren's contracture (right hand)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25057714
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 734 · Granted: 31% (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 A25057714.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's chronic low back pain was incurred in service and continues to this day, granting her claim for service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's thoracolumbar disorder, including arthritis, thoracic spine scoliosis with degenerative changes, DDD, and chronic low back pain, is granted service connection. Service connection for a cervical strain is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's chronic low back pain, left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, and bilateral foot conditions are granted. The lung condition (including asthma and bronchitis) is remanded for further evaluation.
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