The Veteran's claim for service connection for neck injury to include arthritis was denied due to lack of new and material evidence. The claim for increased rating for lumbosacral strain is partially granted with a 40% rating effective February 23, 2015.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence was not received to reopen the service connection claim for neck injury to include arthritis. For the lumbosacral strain, the Veteran's symptoms have been rated based on their impact on his ability to work due to limited bending caused by pain.
- Claimed conditions
- neck injury, lumbosacral strain
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- January 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19107706
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 granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right leg sciatica with radiculopathy pain and paresthesia, but denied increased ratings for PTSD, lumbosacral strain, left wrist limitation of motion with ganglion cyst, and service connection for headaches, unspecified. Several issues were remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a disability rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus and a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbosacral strain, but granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy.
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