The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the veteran's lumbar spine injury, as the residuals have not been manifested by muscle spasm on extreme forward bending or forward flexion to 30 degrees or less, nor favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the veteran's lumbar spine condition met the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a lumbar spine injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 10, 2008
- Citation
- 0811947
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 0811947.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran has withdrawn the appeal for service connection claims related to a lumbar spine injury, fibromyalgia, a left shoulder injury, and a cervical spine injury with traumatic arthritis.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection on all four issues due to his death.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because the appellant died before a decision could be made on his claims.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's lumbar and cervical spine disorders were not incurred in service due to a pre-existing condition, and thus denied his claims for service connection.
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