1. Entitlement to service connection for herniated nucleus pulposus with spinal stenosis, status post discectomy with decompression (low back disorder) is granted. 2. Entitlement to service connection for left lower…

Citation Nr: 26001400 Decision Date: 01/30/26 Archive Date: 01/30/26 DOCKET NO. 18-29 610 DATE: January 30, 2026 ORDER 1. Entitlement to service connection for herniated nucleus pulposus with spinal stenosis, status post discectomy with decompression (low back disorder) is granted. 2. Entitlement to service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, claimed as leg weakness, is granted. 3. Entitlement to service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy, claimed as leg weakness, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran's low back disorder is caused by his service. 2. The Veteran's left lower extremity radiculopathy is secondarily related to his low back disorder. 3. The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy is secondarily related to his low back disorder. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for a low back disorder are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. 2. The criteria for service connection for a left lower extremity radiculopathy are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.310. 3. The criteria for service connection for a right lower extremity radiculopathy are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from August 1993 to December 1996. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals from a March 2015 rating decision. The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in a March 2022 travel hearing at the regional office in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Board remanded these appeals in July 2022 before denying them in a May 2024 decision. The Veteran appealed, and in an April 2025 joint motion for remand, the parties requested that the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) vacate the May 2024 decision and remand the three claims back to the Board for action consistent with the motion. The Court granted the joint motion for remand in an April 2025 order. The Board notes that the joint motion for remand directed that the Board provide the Veteran with a new opportunity for a Board hearing and the opportunity to submit additional evidence. Because the Board grants all benefits sought in the instant decision, the Board finds that the failure to follow these directives is not prejudicial to the Veteran. The Board further observes that the RO granted service connection for the Veteran's low back disorder and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy in a January 2025 rating decision, assigning effective dates of September 3, 2024. Despite this decision, the Board will continue to adjudicate this legacy appeal for the same issues in light of the effective date implications. See Bailey v. Wilkie, 33 Vet. App. 188 (2021) Service Connection 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; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a Veteran must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship ("nexus") between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (citing Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). Service connection may be granted for any disease initially diagnosed after discharge when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). In addition, service connection for certain chronic diseases, including arthritis, may be established on a presumptive basis by showing that the condition manifested to a degree of 10 percent or more within one year from the date of separation from service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113, 1131, 1137; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309(a); Fountain v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 258, 271-72 (2015). Although the disease needs not be diagnosed within the presumptive period, it must be shown, by acceptable lay or medical evidence, that there were characteristic manifestations of the disease to the required degree during that time. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309(a). Service connection may also be granted on a secondary basis for disability which is proximately due to or the result of service-connected disease or injury, or for additional disability resulting from the aggravation of a nonservice-connected disability by a service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310; Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995) (en banc). VA is responsible for determining whether the evidence persuasively favors one side or another. 38?C.F.R. § 4.3. When there is an approximate or nearly equal balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the merits of an issue material to the determination of the matter, the benefit of the doubt in resolving each such issue shall be given to the Veteran and the claim will be granted on the merits. 38?U.S.C. §?5107(b). When the evidence persuasively favors against the claim of the Veteran, the benefit of the doubt doctrine is inapplicable and the claim will be denied on its merits. 38?U.S.C. §?5107; Lynch v. McDonough, 21 F.4th 776, 781 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (en banc). 1. Service connection for a low back disorder. The Veteran asserts his low back disability was caused by an in-service motor vehicle accident. At the March 2022 Board hearing, he described an in-service motor vehicle accident where he sustained injuries to his face. Though he had a stiff back at the time, he developed weak legs two or three days later. The Veteran testified he did not receive treatment for his symptoms at a medical clinic but took pain medications. However, he asserted he had felt a heaviness in his legs since the motor vehicle accident and that it had progressively worsened until he had required surgery after service in 2013. First, the Board finds there is a current disability. See Holton, 557 F.3d at 1366; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The Veteran received his back diagnosis of herniated nucleus pulposus with spinal stenosis, status post discectomy with decompression, in October 2013 after undergoing an MRI. Second, the Board finds that an in-service injury is shown. See Holton, 557 F.3d at 1366; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Service treatment records document the Veteran receiving treatment for a nasal fracture after he was involved in a motor vehicle accident in June 1996. Though the service treatment records do not document back treatment at that time or during the following months before separation (which is consistent with the Veteran's Board hearing testimony) there are administrative proceedings documented in his personnel records that eventually resulted in his Honorable discharge from service due to Pseudofolliculitis Barbae. Notably, the Veteran testified at the Board hearing that he collapsed during physical training (PT) when he was unable to feel his lower extremities. Per his testimony, this incident led to the administrative proceedings that resulted in his separation from service, but for a medical reason unrelated to the matter at hand. The Veteran testified that his legs had not given out like the one instance during PT, but he still felt general symptoms since the motor vehicle accident. The Board further notes that the Veteran's service treatment records document that the Veteran sustained a low back strain while playing basketball in February 1994. Third, the Board affords the Veteran the benefit of the doubt and finds that his low back disorder was caused by his in-service injuries. Over the course of the Veteran's claim, VA provided examinations and opinions in March 2015, September 2022, and November 2022. As discussed in more detail in the May 2024 Board decision, these decisions do not support a finding that the Veteran's current back disorder is related to service. Following the issuance of the May 2024 decision, the Veteran submitted a positive nexus opinion that was completed in August 2024. The complete medical provider opined that the Veteran's low back disorder is more likely than not the direct result of his military service. She explained that the Veteran incurred repetitive axial loading and associated spine stress from the physical demands of his service. She also cited to the Veteran's 1994 low back pain and his motor vehicle accident. Finally, the provider referred to several studies to support her opinion. In addition to this positive nexus opinion, a VA examiner also provided a positive nexus opinion in January 2025. The VA examiner referred to the Veteran's reports of back pain back to 1996 and explained that medical literature supports the theory that the Veteran's degenerative disc disease can be caused by previous injury or trauma. These opinions are adequate, and the Board finds them probative because they are supported by detailed rationale. Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295, 302-04 (2008) (noting that the central issue in determining probative value of a medical opinion is whether the examiner was informed of the relevant facts); Stefl v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 120, 124 (2007) (holding that a medical opinion must be supported by an analysis that the Board can consider and weigh against contrary opinions). The opinions support a finding that the Veteran's low back disorder was caused by service. As there is conflicting evidence in the Veteran's file, discussed more in the May 2024 Board decision, the Board finds that the evidence is in a relative state of equipoise on the question of nexus. In such circumstances, reasonable doubt should be afforded to the Veteran. Therefore, the Board resolves doubt in the Veteran's favor and finds that his low back disorder was caused by service. All three elements of service connection are met, and service connection for a low back disorder is warranted. 2. Service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy 3. Service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy. The Veteran has bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy as a result of his service-connected low back disorder. See, e.g., March 2015 VA examination. Service connection for the lower extremity radiculopathy is warranted on a secondary basis. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. S. CHARLES NEILL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board SG, 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.