The veteran's claims for increased ratings and an earlier effective date were granted, with the rating of 20 percent for lumbosacral arthritis, disc derangement, and degenerative spondylosis continuing. The effective date was set at October 12, 2000.
The deciding factor: The VA examination reports supported a finding that the veteran's back disability met the criteria for a 20 percent rating under the old rating criteria due to moderate limitation of motion and degenerative changes without ankylosis or other severe manifestations. The effective date was set at October 12, 2000 based on the VA examination report dated in February 2001.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral arthritis, disc derangement, degenerative spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- June 23, 2006
- Citation
- 0618456
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,377 · 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 0618456.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for lumbosacral arthritis, finding the evidence did not support a link to service. Service connection was granted for hernia, with the condition first identified after separation from service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hypertension and remanded the claims for bilateral hand, hip, knee, and lumbosacral arthritis to provide further development.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities from December 6, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for lumbosacral arthritis due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran's records, including his military history and treatment records, need to be obtained to determine if his back pain is related to service.
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