The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and right elbow, as the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the current severity of his conditions.
The deciding factor: The veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was manifested by complaints of pain with forward flexion to no less than 80 degrees, while his degenerative arthritis of the right elbow was limited to no more than 130 degrees of flexion and 5 degrees of extension. These findings did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Degenerative arthritis of the right elbow
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2009
- Citation
- 0903428
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · 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 0903428.
What this means for you
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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 increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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