The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for his lumbar spine disability is denied. The appeal seeking an earlier effective date prior to December 4, 2003 for the award of a 20 percent evaluation for his service-connected lumbar spine disability is dismissed.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claim for an increased rating was previously denied in March 2004 and has not been appealed. The appeal seeking an earlier effective date prior to December 4, 2003 is dismissed as there is no valid freestanding claim for such a date due to the finality of previous decisions.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals, fracture, lumbar vertebra
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- March 6, 2018
- Citation
- 1813924
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 1813924.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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