The veteran's service-connected degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine does not warrant an initial rating in excess of 20 percent, and his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the veteran's lumbar spine disability is manifested by limitation of motion that does not equate to forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine 30 degrees or less or to favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine, and his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 23, 2008
- Citation
- 0813346
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (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 0813346.
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