The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for degenerative arthritis of the spine was denied as there is no evidence of limitation in range of motion or functional loss due to pain, even considering flare-ups. The Board found that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under Diagnostic Codes 5242 or 5003.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not find any limitation of motion or evidence of x-ray changes in joint groups, and there was no functional loss due to pain supported by adequate pathology and evidenced by visible behavior on motion. The Veteran's reports of flare-ups were found to be inconsistent with the examination findings.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- April 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19127804
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,037 · Granted: 21% (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 19127804.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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