The Veteran's left wrist and lumbar spine disabilities are rated at the lowest possible levels due to their current symptoms not meeting higher rating criteria. The Board finds no evidence of ankylosis or neurological involvement.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s disability ratings do not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on limitation of motion, as his range of motion does not consistently fall within the ranges required for higher ratings under VA's General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine and Diagnostic Codes 5003-5215.
- Claimed conditions
- left wrist degenerative joint disease, lumbar spine degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20070552
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (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 20070552.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found the eligibility determination for PCAFC enrollment to be legally inadequate and remanded for a new medical opinion that adequately addresses the criteria for eligibility as set forth in VA regulations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis as secondary to bilateral pes planus due to inadequate medical opinions and lack of contemporaneous medical records.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease are currently rated at 40 percent, which is the maximum rating available under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The Veteran's RLE sciatic radiculopathy has been dismissed due to untimely filing.
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