The VA has granted increased ratings for the veteran's thoracic, lumbar, and cervical spine arthritis disabilities. The current ratings are 10 percent for thoracic spine arthritis, 20 percent each for lumbar and cervical spine arthritis.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence supports a separate 10 percent evaluation for the service-connected thoracic spine arthritis due to pain on use, which is comparable to at least moderate limitation of motion. The veteran's lumbar and cervical spine disabilities are rated based on their respective limitations of motion under Diagnostic Codes 5292 and 5290.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracic Spine Arthritis, Lumbar Spine Arthritis, Cervical Spine Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- June 29, 2000
- Citation
- 0017176
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0017176.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for additional medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's current DDD and lumbar spine arthritis, as well as bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, are proximately caused or aggravated by his service-connected testicular cancer.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for TDIU was denied prior to March 17, 2017 due to his service-connected orthopedic disabilities. From March 17, 2017, the Veteran has been granted a TDIU based solely on his service-connected orthopedic disabilities.,The Veteran is now eligible for SMC at the housebound rate since November 22, 2017 due to his combined rating of 100 percent and other service-connected disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent.
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