The Board granted an initial disability rating of 20 percent for the veteran's service-connected low back disability, effective to the date of claim; July 1, 1997.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found objective evidence of painful motion, spasm, weakness and tenderness. The preponderance of the evidence demonstrated that the veteran's overall lumbar spine disability more closely approximated the criteria for a 20 percent rating under the 'old' Diagnostic Code 5295 due to episodic paraspinal muscle spasm with decreased forward flexion and lateral spine motion.
- Claimed conditions
- arthralgia of the lumbar spine with history of low back strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 13, 2006
- Citation
- 0610648
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 0610648.
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
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