The veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent, but the Board found that it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The claim for service connection of fibromyalgia was also denied.
The deciding factor: The veteran's lumbar spine disability did not result in unfavorable ankylosis or incapacitating episodes as required for a higher rating under the amended spinal rating criteria, and his fibromyalgia was not shown to be related to service or a service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative changes of the lumbar spine with congenital pedicle defect, fibromyalgia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- April 17, 2006
- Citation
- 0610983
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,500 · 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 0610983.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for painful scars, but the rating assigned remains at 10 percent. The claims for fibromyalgia and bilateral shoulder disability are denied.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for hypertension, fibromyalgia, and vertigo. The decision found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ did not obtain all necessary opinions regarding whether the Veteran's symptoms are related to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI). The claims for service connection for fatigue, fibromyalgia, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder, and sleep disorder are remanded for further development.
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