The Veteran's low back disability is currently rated at 10 percent, the maximum schedular rating available for a lumbar spine disability with forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine to 60 degrees or less. The evidence does not support an evaluation in excess of this.
The deciding factor: The most recent VA examination showed forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine at 70 degrees, which is within the range for a 10 percent rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine.
- Claimed conditions
- Low Back Muscle Strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 13, 2014
- Citation
- 1401622
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 1401622.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's low back disability, rated as 40 percent disabling for a low back muscle strain, does not meet the criteria for an increased rating beyond this level.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disability, currently evaluated as 40 percent disabling, does not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating. The highest schedular rating assignable is 40 percent.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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