The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine prior to June 11, 2008 was denied. The Board found that the medical evidence did not show limitation of motion or function loss due to pain manifested by restriction of forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees; the combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine not greater than 120 degrees; 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 medical evidence did not meet the criteria for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine prior to June 11, 2008.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- July 14, 2010
- Citation
- 1026136
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 1026136.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim of service connection for degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine (claimed as back injury) due to inadequate VA examination and failure to comply with prior remand directives.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine was dismissed due to concurrent election of review options.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine, with muscle spasms; right elbow pain; and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy/ sciatica as secondary to the back disability have all been granted.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of TDIU due to lack of factual support and found that the Veteran's unemployability was not a result of his service-connected conditions during the one-year look-back period.
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