The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations and service connection, as well as an earlier effective date for a tinnitus rating. The issues of organic brain syndrome, hypertension (secondary to sleep apnea), anxiety disorder (secondary to organic brain syndrome), and residuals of fracture of the right femur are all in appellate status.
The deciding factor: The veteran's spondylosis of the lumbosacral spine was rated as 10 percent disabling based on slight limitation of motion, without evidence of degenerative disc disease or significant neurological deficits. The other issues were not addressed due to lack of service connection theory provided by the appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- spondylosis of the lumbosacral spine, anxiety disorder (claimed as secondary to service-connected organic brain syndrome), hypertension (claimed as secondary to service-connected sleep apnea)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 14, 2005
- Citation
- 0503926
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 673 · Granted: 27% (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 0503926.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for spondylosis of the lumbosacral spine is dismissed as he opted-in to the modernized review system.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbosacral spondylolisthesis and spondylosis of the lumbosacral spine have been granted a compensable initial rating (10%) effective May 13, 2011.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted a disability rating of 20 percent for left lower extremity sciatica prior to January 5, 2015. The issue of entitlement to increased ratings for the Veteran's spondylosis of the lumbosacral spine is remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's back disability is secondary to her service-connected bilateral knee disabilities.
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