The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine is currently rated at 10 percent, but does not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on the severity of his symptoms and range of motion.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s low back disability has been evaluated under Diagnostic Code 5237 (lumbosacral or cervical strain) with forward flexion to 80 degrees and no incapacitating episodes requiring bed rest prescribed by a physician in the last 12 months. The criteria for higher ratings are not met.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- February 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19112186
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,030 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19112186.
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 Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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