The veteran's chronic lumbosacral strain is not productive of flexion of the thoracolumbar spine of 60 degrees or less; combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine of 120 degrees or less; or muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or abnormal kyphosis.
The deciding factor: The evidence fails to establish that the veteran has flexion of the thoracolumbar spine of 60 degrees or less; combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine of 120 degrees or less; or muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or abnormal kyphosis.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lumbosacral strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 5, 2008
- Citation
- 0814836
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 appeal for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for chronic lumbosacral strain and service connection for right leg condition was dismissed due to an impermissible concurrent election of review options.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a higher rating for chronic lumbosacral strain and service connection for cervical, left ankle, right ankle, right shoulder, and left shoulder conditions to ensure compliance with due process.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic lumbosacral strain and denied service connection for left knee, right knee, left shoulder, right shoulder, and right ear hearing loss conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted revision of the January 2007 rating decision based on clear and unmistakable error (CUE) to reflect a 10 percent disability rating for service-connected chronic lumbosacral strain, effective March 30, 2004.
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