The Board has determined that a rating of 20 percent is warranted for the veteran's osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine, as it results in muscle spasms or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait.
The deciding factor: The VA examination reports demonstrated muscle spasm and guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait, which meets the criteria for a 20 percent rating under DCs 5243-5003.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 14, 2008
- Citation
- 0839324
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 0839324.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine was granted with an effective date set at May 2, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine is remanded due to an incomplete VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate reasons or bases for denying an increased evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected low back disability. The Court found that the Board failed to address evidence indicating additional functional loss and disregarded the Veteran's statements about pain and movement limitations.
- Denied
The Board denied a higher rating for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine, finding that his disability did not meet or more nearly approximate the criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent.
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