The Board has granted an increased disability rating of 20 percent for the veteran's service-connected degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, effective from May 2002.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and medical records supported a finding that the veteran's back pain was severe enough to warrant a higher disability rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 22, 2003
- Citation
- 0336085
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 0336085.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability and an acquired psychiatric disability, but remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected degenerative changes of the lumbar spine and increased the disability rating for the lumbar spine to 20 percent effective August 18, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a back disability to verify the Veteran's period(s) of active duty for training (ACDUTRA), inactive duty for training (IDT), and/or active duty for special work (ADSW) from September 2013 to August 2021, and to obtain a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings in excess of 10 percent for degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, left upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome, and right upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome to ensure that VA's responsibilities under the duty to assist are followed.
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