The Veteran's lumbar spine disability was rated at 20 percent prior to December 9, 2013 and has been rated at 40 percent since then. The cervical spine disability remains at 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations indicated that the Veteran had significant functional impairment in both his lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, but did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under the applicable rating schedule.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Cervical spine injury with traumatic arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- June 29, 2015
- Citation
- 1527839
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 1527839.
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.
- 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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