The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his thoracic spine, lumbar spine, and cervical spine disabilities. The evaluations were found to be appropriate based on the current symptoms and diagnostic criteria.
The deciding factor: The new criteria did not provide a basis for granting higher ratings as they did not indicate any additional functional impairment or chronic manifestations that would warrant higher evaluation under the revised criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of thoracic spine, Syringomyelia with Arnold-Chiari malformation and degenerative joint disease of cervical spine, Thoracic strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 17, 2006
- Citation
- 0607744
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for the service-connected thoracic strain and dismissed the appeal regarding the proposal to sever service connection for vitamin D deficiency.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for thoracic strain, as the evidence did not support a higher disability rating.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and remanded other issues due to insufficient evidence regarding her cervical spine radiculopathy diagnosis and a need for an updated opinion on service connection for chronic allergic conjunctivitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the thoracic strain disability prior to May 13, 2014, but denied a higher rating from that date through September 23, 2017.
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