The Veteran's lower back condition, claimed as lumbar disc herniation and degenerative arthritis, is found to be related to his active service. Service connection for this condition is granted.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records show a history of back pain during the Veteran's active duty, which was aggravated by an injury sustained during ACDUTRA in April 2013.
- Claimed conditions
- lower back condition, lumbar disc herniation, degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2026
- Citation
- A26013654
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 A26013654.
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.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's rating for his right elbow condition from 10 percent to 20 percent effective May 5, 2025, finding that the evidence was in equipoise regarding whether there had been improvement in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates of January 13, 2020 for the service connection of low back disability and related radiculopathy issues. The Veteran's claims were reopened due to new evidence submitted in January 2020.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, finding that it is related to his in-service injury. The claimant did not contest this decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for both a lower back condition and a cervical spine condition, finding that the evidence did not support a nexus between these conditions and service.
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