The veteran's traumatic arthritis of the 12th thoracic and 1st lumbar vertebrae secondary to compression fracture at L1 is rated as 50 percent effective February 4, 2005.,The veteran's DJD of the cervical spine is rated as 20 percent effective February 4, 2005. The right shoulder disability is rated as 30 percent prior to February 4, 2005 and 20 percent from August 30, 2002.
The deciding factor: The veteran's traumatic arthritis of the thoracic and lumbar spine secondary to compression fracture at L1 meets the criteria for a 50 percent rating effective February 4, 2005 due to incapacitating episodes. The cervical DJD does not meet the criteria for higher ratings as it has not resulted in incapacitating episodes of at least 6 weeks but less than 6 weeks and unfavorable ankylosis is not present.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the cervical spine secondary to shell fragment wounds, Residuals of shell fragment wound of the left shoulder, Residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right shoulder, Traumatic arthritis of the 12th thoracic and 1st lumbar vertebrae secondary to compression fracture at L1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- October 17, 2006
- Citation
- 0632337
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 0632337.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine disabilities as well as his residuals of shell fragment wounds of the left and right shoulders.
- Denied
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- Denied
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- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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