The Board has granted a 40 percent disability rating for the veteran's lumbar pain with spondylolisthesis and spondylolysis pars interarticularis at L5-S1, effective from July 10, 2004.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the veteran had significant degenerative changes in his lumbar spine, particularly at the L5-S1 level, with paraspinal tenderness and limitation of motion consistent with these findings. The overall disability picture more closely approximated the criteria for a 40 percent rating under Code 5293.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar pain, spondylolisthesis, spondylolysis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- April 28, 2006
- Citation
- 0612214
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 0612214.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a back disability and an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that the evidence supports a link between these conditions and the Veteran's active duty service.
- Granted
The Veteran's spondylolysis was granted a 40 percent rating from November 25, 2013 to October 26, 2023. The condition resulted in forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine being limited to 20 degrees during use over time.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error and the need for additional medical evidence. The Veteran's lower back disability, including lumbar strain and spondylolisthesis, is being reviewed again.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a back condition, including spondylolisthesis, as the evidence did not show permanent aggravation of the preexisting condition during service.
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