The RO denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, currently evaluated at 40 percent.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a higher evaluation than 40 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- June 3, 2003
- Citation
- 0311335
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (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 0311335.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, and remanded other claims for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was granted a 40 percent rating, but no higher, from August 1, 2005 through December 2, 2008. The TDIU claim for this period was denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a VA annual clothing allowance for the year 2016 due to use of back and wrist braces is denied as her fabric-covered braces do not cause irreparable damage to her outer clothing.
- Denied
The VA denied an increased rating for the veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and separate ratings for mild right and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
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