The Board granted an increased evaluation of 30 percent for the veteran's service-connected chip fracture of the fourth lumbar vertebra, effective April 4, 1997.
The deciding factor: The VA determined that the veteran's current condition did not warrant a higher rating as his disability was primarily due to degenerative changes and previous injuries rather than any service connection-related issues.
- Claimed conditions
- chip fracture of the fourth lumbar vertebra, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine with disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- May 16, 2002
- Citation
- 0204597
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 0204597.
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)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Granted
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- Denied
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