The Board has granted an increased rating of 40 percent for the service-connected low back strain, effective from April 30, 2002. The veteran's bilateral pes planus is rated at 10 percent and remains unchanged.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the veteran had severe limitation of motion of the lumbar spine during flare-ups, warranting a 40% rating for low back strain.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back strain, Bilateral pes planus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- February 2, 2005
- Citation
- 0502408
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,293 · Granted: 17% (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 0502408.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hearing loss and low back strain claims are remanded for further evaluation. The hearing loss claim is denied, while the low back strain claim requires additional examination to determine its severity.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral pes planus is not service-connected due to a duty-to-assist error, and remands the case for further examination and opinion.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for SMC(o) was denied as he could not receive multiple awards of SMC(l). The right shoulder bicipital tendonitis rating was denied, and the TDIU claim was granted.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral pes planus preexisted service and was aggravated by service, warranting a grant of service connection.
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