The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 20 percent prior to September 29, 2016 and at 40 percent thereafter. His left shoulder disability was rated at 20 percent prior to September 29, 2016 and at 30 percent thereafter for carpal tunnel syndrome of the left wrist. The Veteran's claims were denied as his conditions did not warrant higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s lumbar spine disability was found to have a range of motion that met the criteria for a 40 percent rating, and his shoulder disability had a range of motion that met the criteria for a 30 percent rating. The current ratings are considered appropriate under the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, Rotator cuff tear of the left shoulder with degenerative changes, Carpal tunnel syndrome of the left wrist
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- October 23, 2017
- Citation
- 1747301
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 1747301.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, finding that the VA examination and opinion were inadequate as they did not consider the Veteran's complete medical history. The case is now to be reviewed with an addendum VA opinion.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because the Board Appeal request was not timely filed with respect to the June 14, 2023 rating decision that decreased the rating for degenerative changes of the lumbar spine to 20 percent effective September 1, 2023.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability and an acquired psychiatric disability, but remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected degenerative changes of the lumbar spine and increased the disability rating for the lumbar spine to 20 percent effective August 18, 2023.
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