The veteran's arthritis of the dorsal spine is manifested by pain, flexion limited to 65 degrees, full extension, lateral flexion bilaterally limited to 15 degrees, rotation bilaterally limited to 15 degrees, limited endurance, muscle spasm and increased kyphosis; but it is not manifested by flexion limited to 30 degrees or less or ankylosis.
The deciding factor: The veteran's symptoms meet the criteria for a 20 percent rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine, as his forward flexion was limited to 65 degrees with additional limitation due to pain on motion.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the dorsal spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 10, 2008
- Citation
- 0812000
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 952 · 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 0812000.
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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