The Board dismissed the Veteran's increased rating claims for his lumbosacral strain spondylolisthesis with degenerative arthritis prior to October 2, 2012. The appeal was also dismissed regarding his claims for higher ratings from April 16, 2019.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's flexion of the lumbar spine was functionally limited to 45 degrees due to pain and flare-ups, which is not sufficient to warrant a rating higher than 20 percent under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain spondylolisthesis with degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 6, 2022
- Citation
- 22000676
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 998 · Granted: 40% (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 22000676.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
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- Denied
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- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
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