Citation Nr: 21040115
Decision Date: 07/02/21	Archive Date: 07/02/21

DOCKET NO. 17-13 469
DATE: July 2, 2021

ORDER

The claim for service connection for a low back disability is granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The Veteran's low back disabilities are aggravated by service-connected disabilities of the lower extremities.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for service connection for lumbar disc bulging with arthritis and lumbosacral strain have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.310.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

The matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2014 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 

The Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in March 2020. The hearing transcript is of record.

This case was remanded in December 2020 and has been returned for review.

Service connection for low back disability

The Veteran contends that the currently diagnosed low back disabilities are related to military service. 

Service connection is warranted where the evidence of record establishes that a particular injury or disease resulting in disability was incurred in the line of duty in the active military service or, if pre-existing such service, was aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (a). 

Service connection may be established for any disease diagnosed after discharge from 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).

Entitlement to service connection is established when the following elements are satisfied: (1) the existence of a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship or 'medical nexus' between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (quoting Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004)); see 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (a).

Service connection is permissible, as well, on a secondary basis for disability that is proximately due to, the result of, or chronically aggravated by a service-connected condition. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 (a) and (b). See also Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995). 

In order to establish entitlement to service connection on this alternative secondary basis, there must be: (1) evidence of a current disability; (2) evidence of a service-connected disability; and (3) medical evidence establishing a nexus (i.e., link) between the service-connected disability and the current disability. See Wallin v. West, 11 Vet. App. 509, 512 (1998). In regard to service connection element (1), current disability, VA treatment include diagnoses of bulging discs with arthritis. (See VA MRI report dated January 28, 2016) and lumbosacral strain (See Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) dated March 28, 2021).

In regard to element (2) for secondary service connection, evidence of a service connected disability, service connection is in effect for bilateral foot and bilateral knee disabilities. 

In regard to element (3), causal relationship, the March 2021 DBQ examiner stated that it is less likely than not that the claimant's current lumbar strain is solely aggravated by her knee or any foot pain. The examiner added that the Veteran has multiple factors contributing to her current strain. Significantly, the examiner indicated that one of these factors included gait change due to her left knee. The Veteran is service connected for left knee disability. It is not required that her service-connected disability be the sole factor that aggravates her non service connected disability. The Board finds that the requirement for a nexus is met. 

As all three elements have been satisfied, the Board finds that service connection for lumbosacral strain and bulging discs with arthritis is warranted.

 

 

Nathaniel Doan

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	A.D. Jackson, 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.