Citation Nr: 19127828
Decision Date: 04/10/19	Archive Date: 04/10/19

DOCKET NO. 16-18 244
DATE:	April 10, 2019

ORDER

Service connection for a low back condition is granted.

Service connection for a bilateral hip condition is granted. 

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. During service, in October 1978, the Veteran fell down a 50-foot torpedo shaft and severely injured his low back and both hips. At his April 2019 Board hearing, he provided competent and credible testimony that he was not assigned any heavy duties from the time of the accident until his discharge from service because he was still recovering from the trauma. The Veteran and his spouse also provided competent and credible testimony that he has experienced chronic back and hip pain from that time until the present. [The Board acknowledges the negative nexus opinion of the February 2014 VA examiner but--other than the examiner’s conclusion that the Veteran’s back condition contributed to his hip pain and problems--cannot assign it significant probative weight because it is based on the inaccurate factual premise that the Veteran’s in-service injuries were minor.]

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. The criteria for service connection for a low back condition have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2018).

2. The criteria for service connection for a bilateral hip condition have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1975 to September 1979. These matters are before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals on appeal from a January 2015 rating decision by the Portland, Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office. In April 2019, a hearing was held before the undersigned.  

For the reasons explained above, the claims are granted.

 

VICTORIA MOSHIASHWILI

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	David Arritt, Associate Counsel