The Board has granted an increased evaluation for the veteran's lumbosacral strain and found that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen his claim for service connection for generalized osteoarthritis. The effective date of service connection for thoracic back strain is set at March 24, 1971.
The deciding factor: The veteran's service-connected lumbosacral sprain warrants a 20 percent evaluation under the criteria for musculoskeletal system disabilities due to marked limitation of forward bending and loss of lateral spine motion. The claim for reopening the generalized osteoarthritis was granted based on new evidence submitted since the May 1983 RO decision.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral sprain, generalized osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 7, 2002
- Citation
- 0213738
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 0213738.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the proposed reduction in the Veteran's rating for a lumbosacral sprain is dismissed as it was not a final adjudicative decision.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral sprain, while remanding the claims for left hip strain, right hip strain, left knee instability, right knee instability, and tachycardia.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied the appeal for an earlier effective date for award of service connection for lumbar spine disability, which was affirmed by a Court Order. The case is remanded to address a CUE claim in the June 1981 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various conditions to correct an error in providing notice of the right to a pre-decisional hearing.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.