The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of March 18, 2011 for a 10% rating for bilateral spondylosis with sclerosis of the apophyseal joint. The evidence did not show that the disability warranted a higher rating prior to this date.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claim was pending since September 1983, and there is no evidence showing an increase in severity of his service-connected back disability within one year before September 1983 or at any time prior to March 18, 2011. The Board found that the preponderance of the evidence did not support a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral spondylosis with sclerosis of the apophyseal joint
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20001475
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 20001475.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates as there was no evidence of a factually ascertainable increase in disability prior to March 18, 2011.
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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