Citation Nr: 22013406 Decision Date: 03/09/22 Archive Date: 03/09/22 DOCKET NO. 14-28 522 DATE: March 9, 2022 ORDER Service connection for a lumbar strain and a thoracic strain is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran has current diagnoses of a lumbar strain and a thoracic strain as a result of active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a lumbar strain and a thoracic 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 served on active duty from March 1993 to March 2003. This matter originally came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a January 2014 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in San Diego, California. The Veteran testified at a November 2017 Board video-conference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A copy of the hearing transcript is associated with the claims file. This matter has previously been remanded by the Board for further development, most recently in February 2020. This matter is again before the Board. Service connection for a lumbar strain and a thoracic strain is granted. The Veteran believes that service connection for a lumbar strain and thoracic strain is warranted. Generally, service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service, even if the disability was initially diagnosed after service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. 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). 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. A 2020 VA spine examination found that the Veteran had current diagnoses of a lumbar strain and thoracic strain. See August 2020 C&P Exam. Therefore, 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 from 1998 show low back pain, a paravertebral muscle strain, a six-month history of low back pain, and a thoracic strain. Service records from 2000 show an upper back strain and a back strain. At the time of the Veteran's separation examination in 2002, chronic back pain was noted. See February 2008 STR Medical. 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. A 2019 VA spine examination found that the Veteran's back condition was not related to service. See February 2019 C&P Exam. However, the Board found that examination to be inadequate and remanded the issue for another VA spine examination. See February 2020 BVA Decision. In 2020, the same examiner who provided the negative nexus opinion in 2019 provided a new opinion, which found that the Veteran's lumbar strain and thoracic strain were related to active service and stated that this new opinion superseded the 2019 opinion. The examiner found that the lumbar strain and thoracic strain were related to active service because service records showed the lumbar and thoracic spine problems mentioned above. See August 2020 C&P Exam. Because the 2019 VA spine examination was inadequate, the Board gives it no probative weight. The Board gives the 2020 VA spine examination great probative weight because it reflects full consideration of the pertinent evidence of record and includes adequate rationale. See Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295 (2008). (Continued on next page) Based on the evidence of record, the Board finds that the evidence is at least in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran's lumbar strain and thoracic strain are related to service. Therefore, the third and final element of direct service connection is met. Service connection for a lumbar strain and a thoracic 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.