The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his back disability is granted, with a 40% disability rating effective from December 4, 2007 to November 28, 2012. The claim for an increased rating for the same condition after that date remains denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations conducted prior to November 29, 2012 showed significant limitation of motion in the Veteran's back, with forward flexion at 60 degrees and extension at 25 degrees. These findings supported a finding of no more than a 40% disability rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hip disability, bilateral hip disability (addressed separately), back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- May 5, 2017
- Citation
- 1715080
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 1715080.
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 Board has reopened the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disability, endometriosis, thyroid condition, and chronic fatigue syndrome due to new evidence submitted since the last final denial. The claims are now considered on their merits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete service treatment records and a need for additional VA examination. The Veteran's back disability is being reviewed again with new evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for back, hip, and lower extremity disabilities due to a lack of VA examination and outstanding treatment records. The Veteran's current diagnoses and lay statements will be considered in determining if his conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's adenocarcinoma of the colon is granted as secondary to his service-connected other specified trauma and stressor related disorder to include alcohol use disorder. The back disability claim is remanded for further development.
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