The Board found that the veteran's lumbar paravertebral myositis and bilateral L5-S1 radiculopathy do not warrant a rating higher than the current 40 percent disability rating.
The deciding factor: The VA examination reports did not show any findings of intervertebral disc syndrome or incapacitating episodes, which are required for higher ratings under the new version of Diagnostic Code 5293.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar paravertebral myositis, bilateral L5-S1 radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- February 5, 2004
- Citation
- 0403331
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 26% (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 0403331.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of September 20, 1996 for the assignment of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbar paravertebral myositis, disc disease, and spine spondylosis rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as of March 28, 2018. The Board granted his TDIU claim.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal because his April 2017 substantive appeal was not timely filed, and thus the April 2015 rating decision is final.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals regarding increased ratings for his service-connected low back and left forearm disabilities have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeal in May 2022.
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