Secondary service connection
Hip impairment secondary to a back condition: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2018 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided hip impairment claimed as secondary to a back condition in 1,889 decisions. It granted the issue in 14.6% of them, close to the 16.2% grant rate for all hip impairment issues, denied it in 18.7%, and remanded it in 66.3%. Counting only decisions on the merits, 43.8% were granted.
Decisions
1,889
2018–2026
Granted
14.6%
All hip impairment: 16.2%
Granted on the merits
43.8%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
66.3%
Denied: 18.7%
See all hip impairment decisions, direct and secondary.
Hip impairment secondary to a back condition: outcomes by year
| Year | Decisions | Granted | Denied | Remanded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 198 | 6.6% | 22.7% | 68.7% |
| 2019 | 197 | 11.2% | 22.8% | 65.5% |
| 2020 | 235 | 9.8% | 24.7% | 65.1% |
| 2021 | 267 | 10.5% | 18.4% | 70.4% |
| 2022 | 222 | 15.8% | 16.2% | 67.6% |
| 2023 | 262 | 14.9% | 15.3% | 70.2% |
| 2024 | 224 | 16.1% | 17.0% | 67.0% |
| 2025 | 197 | 25.4% | 15.2% | 58.9% |
| 2026 | 87 | 33.3% | 13.8% | 52.9% |
Evidence in granted and denied hip impairment decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the hip impairment issue on the merits when the decision mentioned it, compared with decisions that did not. These are associations, not causes, and evidence is recorded per decision, not per issue.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive nexus opinion | 353 | 86.1% | 20.5% | +65.6 pts |
| Favorable VA exam | 215 | 79.7% | 35.5% | +44.2 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 614 | 57.5% | 33.1% | +24.3 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 102 | 59.6% | 42.5% | +17.1 pts |
| Buddy statement | 63 | 52.2% | 43.5% | +8.7 pts |
| Combat service | 66 | 42.1% | 43.8% | −1.7 pts |
| Lay statement | 1,575 | 39.4% | 67.3% | −27.9 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 73.8% of the decisions that granted hip impairment.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 25.5% of grants and 14.7% of denials.
Negative evidence in the record
An unfavorable exam or a negative nexus opinion often sits in the same record as favorable evidence, and the Board weighs them against each other. So these rows show how often hip impairment was still granted when the record contained the negative item, not that the item helped.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unfavorable VA exam | 1,562 | 43.1% | 48.7% | −5.6 pts |
| Negative nexus opinion | 1,281 | 39.8% | 55.8% | −15.9 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied hip impairment
Most common reasons in grants
- Caused by the service-connected disability69
- Current diagnosis established40
- Service connection established34
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability18
- Service records negative or silent4
- Secondary service connection granted4
- Service connection granted3
- Resolving all doubt in veteran's favor3
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service69
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis53
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim50
- Service records negative or silent36
- No current diagnosis33
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability29
- No continuity of symptomatology10
- Current diagnosis established10
Numbers are decisions that gave the reason. Reasons are short phrases extracted by AI from each decision; common wordings of the same reason are grouped. Benefit of the doubt is reported above.
Recent hip impairment decisions
Granted
Private medical opinion provided favorable nexus; Equipoise resolved in Veteran's favor; Secondary to service-connected lumbar spine disability
Favorable finding of hip condition from AOJ; VA opinion inadequate (unsupported by rationale, conclusory); Competent and credible private opinion linked hip disability to back disability (hip-spine syndrome)
Service-connected lumbar spine disability.; Private opinion found bursitis proximately due to lumbar spine disability.; Benefit of the doubt afforded.
Denied
Favorable AOJ finding for diagnosis of myofascial syndrome.; Negative nexus opinions from VA examiners (Feb 2023, Sep 2024).; Private opinion less persuasive due to lack of baseline severity analysis.
Lack of service treatment records for hip condition; Hip condition likely due to post-service factors; No service connection for primary low back condition
No current diagnosis of left hip disability found in VA or private treatment records.; Subjective left hip pain reported by Veteran, but no evidence of functional impairment of earning capacity.; Evidence weighs against the claim, making benefit-of-the-doubt rule inapplicable.
Rules that apply to secondary hip impairment claims
- 38 CFR 3.310
Secondary service connection and aggravation
Read it in VA Law Explorer - M21-1 V.ii.2.D
Secondary service connection and aggravation of non-service-connected disabilities
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.102
Reasonable doubt (benefit of the doubt)
Read it in VA Law Explorer
Research your hip impairment case
Narrow by year, judge, evidence or secondary condition, read the decisions, and export a research memo.
How these numbers are calculated
- Counts decisions in which the Board decided a hip impairment issue claimed as secondary to a back condition, by the outcome of that issue.
- The primary disability is read from the decision text ("secondary to …") and grouped by name, so spellings such as "PTSD" and "posttraumatic stress disorder" count together.
- Secondary claims also include aggravation of a non-service-connected condition by a service-connected one (38 CFR 3.310(b)).
- The data comes from CaseScribe's AI extraction of public BVA decisions (2018–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.