Citation Nr: 21069014 Decision Date: 11/17/21 Archive Date: 11/17/21 DOCKET NO. 17-32 189 DATE: November 17, 2021 ORDER Service connection for a lumbar strain is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's lumbar strain had its onset during honorable service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a lumbar strain have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 1154(a), 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran honorably served on active duty from March 2000 to August 17, 2011. This matter originally came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an October 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This matter was previously remanded by the Board for further development in February 2019. This matter is again before the Board. Service connection for a lumbar strain is granted. The Veteran believes that service connection for a lumbar spine condition is warranted. See March 2016 NOD. Generally, direct service connection requires competent evidence showing: (1) the existence of a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Direct service connection basically means that the facts, shown by evidence, establish that a particular injury or disease resulting in disability was incurred coincident with active service in the Armed Forces; or, if preexisting such service, was aggravated therein. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a); Flynn v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 500, 503 (1994) (noting that, in the context of service-connected disability compensation, "the element of cause and effect has been totally by-passed in favor of a simple temporal relationship between the incurrence of the disability and the period of active duty"). When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, the veteran will receive the benefit of the doubt. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 53 (1990). The first element for direct service connection is the existence of a current disability. The clinical evidence documents that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of a lumbar strain. See October 2015 C&P Exam. VA outpatient treatment records show a diagnosis of mild degenerative disc and facet changes in the low lumbar spine. The first element of direct service connection is met. The second element for direct service connection is the in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury. Service records during the Veteran's honorable service show chronic lower back problems, which began a short time after entering service. During service, the Veteran worked in wire system repair, which required a lot of sitting, pushing, pulling, and back twisting while lifting. In June 2011, the Veteran was found to have a lower back sprain. See May 2017 Medical Treatment Record; March 2017 STR; September 2014 STR; February 2014 DPRIS Response. Therefore, the second element of direct service connection is met. The third and final element for direct service connection is the causal relationship between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Evidence in support of a relationship includes the Veteran's report that his lower back problems were due to events and activities during honorable service. See March 2016 NOD. Service records showed that the Veteran's lower back problems began in 2000, around the time that he got out of basic training. It began slowly and became a chronic condition. Lower back pain continued to be a problem regularly from 2000 to 2011. In June 2011, the Veteran was found to have a lower back sprain and was noted to have longstanding lower back pain. Also, in 2011, the Veteran received the diagnosis of a lower back strain. In 2012, the lower back pain continued, and the Veteran was diagnosed with a chronic lumbar strain on multiple occasions. The lower back pain continued to be a problem in 2013. It was noted that the lower back pain had been a chronic issue for several years and that the Veteran had a long history of lower back pain. See May 2017 Medical Treatment Record; March 2017 STR; September 2014 STR. A 2015 VA examination stated that the Veteran had a current diagnosis of a lumbar strain, that the onset of the condition was in 2000, that service records showed multiple visits for treatment of lower back pain with a diagnosis of a lumbar strain, and that the Veteran had reported that his lower back problems had remained the same since service. See October 2015 C&P Exam. The Board finds the Veteran competent to make the above lay statements. The Board has no reason to doubt their credibility. The Board gives the above lay statements great probative value. See Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465, 469 (1994). The Board also finds the other above evidence highly probative. Potential evidence against a relationship includes an October 2015 VA examination, which found that the Veteran's current lumbar strain was not caused by a disc protrusion during service. However, the Board has previously found that VA examination's opinion inadequate. As such, the Board gives the examination's opinion no probative weight. See October 2015 C&P Exam. Based on the evidence of record, the Board finds that the evidence is at least in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current lumbar strain mild degenerative disc and facet changes in the low lumbar spine had its onset during the Veteran's honorable service. Therefore, giving the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, service connection for a lumbar strain is granted. MARJORIE A. AUER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Dougan, Associate 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.