The Board denied higher ratings for lumbosacral strain and cervical spine disability, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent from February 18, 1997, or in excess of 20 percent since June 9, 2002.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's assessment indicated no intervertebral disc disease affecting the lumbar spine and moderate measured limitation of motion of the lumbosacral spine with pain before, during, and after motion testing. The cervical spine had mild measured limitation of motion without muscle spasm or loss of lateral spine motion.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, Lumbosacral strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 8, 2006
- Citation
- 0634511
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · 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 0634511.
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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 degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, finding that there is no nexus between the current disability and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for the lumbar spine disability prior to October 11, 2022 and since December 1, 2022. The Veteran's claim is currently rated at 10 percent under Diagnostic Code 5242.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis and a lumbosacral strain, is at least as likely as not related to his active service. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.
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