Citation Nr: 21040102 Decision Date: 07/02/21 Archive Date: 07/02/21 DOCKET NO. 17-23 090 DATE: July 2, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine condition is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's lumbar spine condition had its onset during his active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine condition have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Army from January 1987 to September 1987, including periods of service in the Army Reserves. In April 2021, the Veteran testified at a virtual hearing before the undersigned. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.902(c). 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2). Entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine condition The Veteran contends that his lumbar spine condition incurred in and is related to service. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) 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 in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may also be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). In the context of Reserve service, service connection may only be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred or aggravated while performing active duty for training (ACDUTRA), or for an injury incurred or aggravated while performing inactive duty training (INACDUTRA or IDT), but not for a disease during inactive duty training, except from an acute myocardial infarction, a cardiac arrest, or a cerebrovascular accident. 38 U.S.C. §§ 101(24), 106; 38 C.F.R. § 3.6. In determining whether service connection is warranted for a disability, VA is responsible for determining whether the evidence supports the claim or is in relative equipoise, with the claimant prevailing in either event. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, the Secretary shall give the benefit of the doubt to the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; see also Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). First, the evidence shows a current disability. Specifically, the Veteran has been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease in 1991 and facet joint arthropathy and foraminal/lateral recess/central stenosis in 2016. See March 2017 Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ). Therefore, the first element of service connection is satisfied. Shedden, 381 F.3d at 1166-67. Second, with regard to the in-service element, the Veteran contends that his lumbar spine condition incurred while he was performing in weekend drill for the Army Reserves in January 1988. Specifically, he testified that he was directed to go to the motor pool to bring some equipment out and that when he grabbed the equipment, he felt a crack in his back. See April 2021 Hearing Transcript, pp. 4-5. The Veteran's testimony is corroborated by his service treatment records (STRs) from January 1988. Thus, the second element is also satisfied. Shedden, 381 F.3d at 1166-67. As for the third element of service connection, the evidence preponderates in support of nexus. First, in a private February 2017 DBQ, Dr. J.S. noted that the Veteran had a history of chronic lower back pain and had suffered from lower back pain after lifting and moving a heavy equipment in his military duties in January 1988, and that he currently experiences lower back pain daily. Moreover, within 3 years after the Veteran's in-service injury, a November 1991 radiology report documented "early osteoarthritic changes" and "narrowing of the joint space at the L4 L5 and L5 S1 levels." July 2014 Medical Treatment Record Non-Government Facility p. 1. Further, the Veteran competently and credibly described how his condition has pain originated in and continued since service. Taken as a whole, the Board finds that the evidence is sufficient to establish nexus. (Continued on the next page) In sum, the Board concludes that the competent and credible lay statements from the Veteran, corroborated by medical evidence, lead the Board to determine that, at the very least, the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's lumbar spine condition first arose during service. Accordingly, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the Board finds that the criteria for service connection for a lumbar spine condition have been met and that the claim must be granted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. A. S. CARACCIOLO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board T. L. Park, 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.