The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar sprain disability, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under either the General Formula or the Intervertebral Disc Syndrome Formula.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and medical records provided no evidence of muscle spasm, guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or spinal contour, or incapacitating episodes that would warrant a higher rating than what was already assigned.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar sprain, degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2015
- Citation
- 1512747
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 1512747.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an evaluation in excess of 40 percent for his lumbar spine disability has been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating, as there was no unfavorable ankylosis or incapacitating episodes of IVDS.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability, finding that there was no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis and thus not warranting a higher rating.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an extension of a temporary total evaluation based on the need for convalescence due to his service-connected left great toe hallux valgus and degenerative joint disease has been dismissed because this issue was already decided by the Board in January 2026.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran argues that he should have been granted service connection for lumbar sprain and hearing loss as early as 1965 based on his STRs showing these conditions existed in service. The Board finds the RO's failure to adjudicate this CUE claim was an error and remands the matter.
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