The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected back condition is denied. He was previously granted a 20 percent rating, but the Board finds no evidence of ankylosis or incapacitating episodes warranting a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s range of motion and functional impairment did not meet criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- Spinal stenosis with degenerative disc disease L4-L5 lumbar spine, Spondylosis and dextro-scoliosis, Thoracic spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20080678
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · 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 20080678.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, finding that the VA examination and opinion were inadequate as they did not consider the Veteran's complete medical history. The case is now to be reviewed with an addendum VA opinion.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected back condition was denied as the evidence did not show that his disability warranted a rating higher than 20 percent prior to January 16, 2020, and a rating higher than 40 percent thereafter.,The Veteran's claim for an initial rating higher than 10 percent for service-connected right lower extremity radiculopathy was denied as the evidence did not show that his disability warranted such a rating.,The Veteran's claim for an initial rating higher than 10 percent for service-connected left lower extremity radiculopathy was denied as the evidence did not show that his disability warranted such a rating.
- Denied
The Veteran's combined service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and his TDIU claim was denied.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current thoracic spine disability, including spondylosis and degenerative joint disease, is due to an injury sustained during his active service. The VA examiner found the Veteran credible in his statements about the back injury in service and subsequent symptoms.
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