The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar spine disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating prior to July 23, 2014 and since July 23, 2014.
The deciding factor: The VA examination findings did not show unfavorable ankylosis or incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 6 weeks during a 12 month period as required for higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lumbar strain with degenerative changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 27, 2016
- Citation
- 1616716
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 1616716.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for chronic lumbar strain with degenerative changes was denied. The attempted appeal of the duty to assist error during the higher-level review for right hip degenerative arthritis was dismissed as there was no decision from which the Veteran could appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal for increased ratings for migraine headaches and chronic lumbar strain with degenerative changes.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates have been dismissed. A rating of 40 percent has been granted for chronic lumbar strain with degenerative changes since May 26, 2016.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination. A new examination is needed to assess her service-connected back disability.
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