The Veteran's lumbar spine disability shows forward flexion to 80 degrees, extension to 27 degrees, left lateral flexion to 27 degrees, right lateral flexion to 29 degrees, and left and right lateral rotation to 30 degrees. The total range of motion is 223 degrees. As the Veteran's disability shows less than favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine, his claim for a higher rating was denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examination showed that the Veteran’s lumbar spine disability resulted in limited forward flexion to 80 degrees and other ranges of motion not meeting the criteria for a compensable evaluation under Diagnostic Codes 5235-5243.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 19, 2017
- Citation
- 1712708
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 1712708.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. Service connection is being remanded for the lumbar spine disability and right knee and calf disabilities.
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