Citation Nr: 22018980 Decision Date: 03/31/22 Archive Date: 03/31/22 DOCKET NO. 18-35 612 DATE: March 31, 2022 ORDER The claim for lumbar spondylosis (herein lumbar disability) is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving all doubt in the Veteran's favor, his lumbar spine disability began during and as a result of military service and has continued since. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for lumbar spondylosis are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1972 to July 1976. He provided testimony during a hearing before the undersigned in November 2021. 1. Entitlement to lumbar spine spondylosis (herein lumbar disability) The Veteran contends that he incurred his current lumbar disability as a result of in-service injuries. Resolving all doubt in his favor, the Board concludes that the Veteran has a current disability that began during active service as a result of documented in-service lifting injuries. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). VA treatment and examination records show the Veteran has a current diagnosis of lumbar spondylosis. Service treatment records document two injuries sustained while heavy lifting in October and November 1973, at which time muscle strains were diagnosed. He testified during the 2021 Board hearing that his back symptoms began following a lifting injury while serving in the stock room of the mess hall and that those symptoms have continued ever since. The Board finds that the Veteran is competent to report observable symptoms such as back pain, when they began, and for how long they have been present. Further, the Veteran's competent reports regarding the in-service onset and continuity since service are found to be credible and sufficient to support a finding of service connection. The Board acknowledges that the Veteran had a motor vehicle accident between his discharge from service and his current claim. However, a January 2016 opinion from the Veteran's treating chiropractor stated that that motor vehicle accident worsened the pre-existing back disability that was incurred during military service. The Board finds that this opinion is highly probative as the physician had treated the Veteran for some time and it is consistent with the Veteran's competent and credible lay statements. The Board acknowledges that a March 2017 VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's current back disability is not etiologically related to the 2 in-service injuries. The examiner relied primarily on the amount of time between those injuries and the first evidence of the current diagnosis of the back disability in the claims file. However, the examiner may not have had the benefit of hearing or reading the Veteran's competent reports regarding the in-service onset and continuity of symptoms, which the Board finds to be credible and highly probative. Upon review of the record, the Board finds that the weight of the evidence is in favor of finding that the Veteran's current lumbar disability is etiologically related to his military service. Accordingly, after resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that service connection for the lumbar disability is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. Cynthia M. Bruce Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. B., 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.