Citation Nr: 21031074 Decision Date: 05/20/21 Archive Date: 05/20/21 DOCKET NO. 16-42 931 DATE: May 20, 2021 ORDER New and material evidence having been submitted, the claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back condition is reopened. Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability, to include lumbar strain, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. An October 1998 rating decision denied service connection for a low back condition. The Veteran did not appeal and no new and material evidence was submitted within one year of the October 1998 rating decision. 2. At the time of the October 1998 rating decision, the record did not contain evidence showing a nexus to service. Subsequent to that decision, the Veteran submitted additional lay statements, opinions, and was afforded a VA examination. This evidence is new and material and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. 3. The Veteran's low back disability, to include lumbar strain, is etiologically related to his time in active service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for a low back condition. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.104, 3.156, 20.302. 2. The criteria to establish service connection for a low back disability, to include lumbar strain, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from January 1985 to January 1993. The Veteran appeals a September 2011 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). The Veteran canceled his requested Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) hearing in November 2019. See November 2019 report of general information. A veteran is entitled to the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) disability compensation if there is a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131. Generally, to establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an 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 diagnosed after discharge, when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that a disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The Veteran is diagnosed with lumbar strain. See June 2016 VA examination report. The Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) noted in-service back injuries. See December 1988 and February 1990 STRs. As to nexus, the August 1998 VA examination report noted the Veteran noticed his back condition around 1989 during military service and diagnosed him with chronic back pain with back strain. Dr. S.V.'s October 2009 opinion noted the Veteran's back pain is related to injuries occurred during service in the military. An October 2009 fellow service member statement noted the Veteran's injury to his back and that he sought medical attention for his back injury. An April 2010 VA examination report regarding psychiatric disorders noted the Veteran's lower back issues were service-connected. Dr. C.H.'s June 2010 opinion found the Veteran's back condition was related to his in-service injury. The Veteran's spouse stated in a September 2015 statement that she remembered the Veteran complaining of back pain when they first met in 1994. The June 2016 VA examination report noted the Veteran's back symptoms had their onset in October 1988. Overall, the Veteran entered service without any back condition. See June 1984 STRs. Five years after separating from active service the Veteran would file a claim for back pain. See April 1998 VA Form 21-526. The Veteran competently stated he continued to seek medical treatment after separating from service for his back condition. See September 2015 DRO Hearing Tr. at 6. The Board finds the Veteran's statements credible. Medical providers have related the Veteran's current back issues to his in-service injuries. The Board finds those medical opinions probative. (Continued on the next page) The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's low back disability, to include lumbar strain, is related to active service. Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the Board finds that the Veteran's lumbar strain originated during service. Accordingly, service connection for a low back disability, to include lumbar strain, is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Zheng, 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.