The Veteran's claim for an effective date of May 28, 2009, and no earlier, for the award of a 40 percent rating for back disability is granted. The Veteran's claim for service connection for residual laminectomy scar associated with his back disability is also granted.
The deciding factor: The claims period for both conditions goes back to May 28, 2009, and the Veteran's reports of flare-ups were considered in determining the severity of his back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Disability, Residual Laminectomy Scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- February 4, 2026
- Citation
- A26010257
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 A26010257.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA rating decision denying service connection for a right knee disability and a back disability is not supported by adequate medical opinions, and thus remands the case for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection of a left knee disability, back disability, and left elbow disability must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran provided lay reports of symptoms but the VA examiners did not consider these reports in their conclusions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for right eye, left eye, left knee, and back disabilities due to conflicting statements from the Veteran and inconsistencies in his medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability, finding that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease and that the current condition is not related to service.
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