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Denied

The Board denied an increased evaluation for service-connected lumbosacral strain, finding that the veteran's symptoms were primarily due to nonservice-connected degenerative changes and spinal stenosis.

The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of worsening in the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain over time and attributed his increased pain to nonservice-connected joint/disc disease and spinal stenosis.

Claimed conditions
lumbosacral strain
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
10%
Decision date
April 3, 2003
Citation
0306448

Veterans Law Judge

RENÉE M. PELLETIER

Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)

Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.

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 0306448.

What this means for you

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