The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his service-connected low back injury, finding that the disability did not warrant a rating in excess of 20 percent under the applicable VA rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show findings of forward flexion of 30 degrees or less or unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine, which would be required for a higher evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5237.
- Claimed conditions
- low back injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- February 14, 2006
- Citation
- 0604227
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,464 · Granted: 14% (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 0604227.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because the appellant requested to withdraw his appeal for service connection claims related to left ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, left knee strain, bilateral hearing loss, and low back injury.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was denied, and the Board found that no effective date prior to May 30, 2019 is warranted.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal of the award of an earlier effective date for tinnitus has been withdrawn.,The Veteran's appeals for increased disability evaluations for his low back injury, right knee injury, left knee injury, left ankle injury, and bilateral hearing loss have all been dismissed as the appeal was withdrawn by the Veteran through his representative.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a groin condition. The remaining issues of service connection for left hip contusion, left foot disability, low back injury, and acquired psychiatric disability are remanded.
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