The Veteran's claim for an increased rating greater than 40 percent for his lumbosacral spine disability, including spondylolisthesis L5-S1 and disc bulging at L3-L4 and L4-L5, was denied. The Board found that the current evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's low back disability is currently rated as 40 percent disabling under DCs 5299-5239 due to pain and limitation of motion, but does not present an exceptional or unusual disability picture that would warrant consideration of extraschedular evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- April 15, 2011
- Citation
- 1114995
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 1114995.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for his lumbosacral spine disability and for TDIU based on that condition due to inadequate examination. The case is being returned for further development.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbosacral spine disability, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the condition and active duty service or any other factor.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's sleep apnea is being remanded for a VA examination to determine if it is proximately due to or has undergone any incremental increase in disability due to his service-connected mental health, back, and shoulder disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in the previous VA examination, which did not discount the ameliorative effects of her pain medication. The case is also remanded for consideration of TDIU as part of the evaluation of her back disability.
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