Citation Nr: 20002602 Decision Date: 01/14/20 Archive Date: 01/13/20 DOCKET NO. 17-60 293 DATE: January 14, 2020 ORDER New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back disability, and the claim is reopened. Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative joint disease (DJD), degenerative disc disease (DDD), and stenosis, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In a November 2013 decision, the Board denied service connection for a low back disability. 2. The evidence received since the November 2013 Board decision is not cumulative or redundant of evidence previously of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back disability, and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. 3. The Veteran’s low back disability, diagnosed as DJD, DDD, and stenosis, is the result of an in-service injury. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The November 2013 Board decision is final. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.160(d), 20.1103 (2019). 2. New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back disability. 38 U.S.C. § 5108 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (2019). 3. The criteria to establish service connection for a low back disability, diagnosed as DJD, DDD, and stenosis, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1113, 1131, 1137, 5107(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a)-(b), (d), 3.307, 3.309(a) (2019). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty for training (ACDUTRA) from May 1983 to October 1983, and on active duty from November 1990 to September 1991. Service connection for a low back disability The Veteran seeks service connection for a low back disability. She points to an in-service injury as the genesis of the condition. To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a Veteran must show: “(1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service” - the so-called “nexus” requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease initially diagnosed after service, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The medical records include diagnoses of low back DJD, DDD, and stenosis. See, e.g., July 2013 VA examination report. The first Shedden element has been met. The Veteran has also credibly stated that she injured her back during active duty in 1991 while erecting tents and loading equipment. In an undated statement submitted in October 2004, a retired Sergeant Major, J.L., also indicated that he had witnessed the Veteran’s injury in January 1991 while erecting tents, and that he personally escorted her to the Troop Medical Clinic. He related that the provider indicated that the Veteran had injured her spine and gave her pain killers and antiinflammatory drugs so she could return to duty. He noted that by the time they returned to Ft. Stewart in August, she was in almost constant pain from her back injury. Given these events, the second Shedden element has also been satisfied. (Continued on the next page)   With respect to the third Shedden element, in March 2004, the Veteran’s VA physician indicated she believed it was as likely as not that the Veteran’s lumbar spine condition was the result of her military experience. Similarly, in March 2005, a VA physician concluded that the Veteran’s disc disease developed as the result of her military experience. Finally, a February 2015 statement from Dr. F.C. likewise concludes that the Veteran’s current back complaints are related to her in-service back injury. Dr. F.C. also acknowledged that the Veteran also injured her back following service, but noted that the post-service incidents only served to exacerbate her pre-existing condition. The Board finds these three opinions highly probative and sufficient to satisfy the third Shedden element. As such, service connection for a low back disability, variously diagnosed as DJD, DDD, and stenosis, is granted. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Barone, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.