The Veteran's cervical spine disability was granted a 20 percent rating, effective July 1983. The RO confirmed and continued this evaluation in October 2002. A September 2006 VA examination showed forward flexion of the cervical spine limited to 20 degrees with pain.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's forward flexion was found to be limited to 20 degrees, which meets the criteria for a 20 percent rating under DC 5290 (rating formula for diseases and injuries of the spine).
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Cervical Spine, Right Cervical Sensorimotor Radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- July 30, 2015
- Citation
- 1532456
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 1532456.
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 degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine was found to not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating, as it did not result in forward flexion of 15 degrees or less and there was no evidence of favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and chronic sinusitis. However, it granted an increased disability rating of 30 percent for left upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's GERD was granted a 60 percent disability rating, and the June 15, 2020 VA Form 10182 for service connection claims was accepted as timely due to good cause shown.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was restored to a 20 percent rating effective February 24, 2022. The other issues were denied.
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