The VA granted service connection for the veteran's lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis, sacroiliac joint and assigned a 20 percent disability rating effective June 6, 2003. The veteran's appeal is about whether this initial evaluation should be higher.
The deciding factor: The level of disability produced by the veteran's low back disorder is consistent with muscle spasm on extreme forward bending, unilateral loss of lateral spine motion in a standing position, but not severe lumbosacral strain.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis, sacroiliac joint
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- July 21, 2006
- Citation
- 0621503
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (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 0621503.
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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