The veteran's lumbar strain disability was found to be primarily manifested by pain on the extremes of extension without evidence of muscle spasm, guarding, abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour. As such, an initial disability evaluation greater than 10 percent for a lumbar strain disability has not been met.
The deciding factor: The range of motion findings and lack of additional limitation with repetitive movement led to the conclusion that a higher rating was not warranted.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a back injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 5, 2009
- Citation
- 0900243
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for residuals of a back injury, head injury, and neck injury as the evidence did not support that these injuries occurred during or while traveling from active duty.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for residuals of a back injury and an effective date earlier than May 26, 2023, for the award of service connection for residuals of a back injury.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for migraines and residuals of a back injury due to untimely notice of disagreement.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the veteran's claims for service connection of residuals from back, head, and neck injuries due to inadequate efforts by VA to obtain necessary records.
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