The Board denied restoration of the 20 percent ratings for cervical spine strain, thoracolumbar strain, and right lower extremity radiculopathy due to improvement in the disabilities under ordinary conditions of life and work.
The deciding factor: Improvement was shown based on increased range of motion and lack of functional impairment during flare-ups, which translated into an improved ability to perform daily tasks.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine strain, thoracolumbar strain, right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25099502
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 23% (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 A25099502.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates and increased ratings were dismissed as the appeal requests were not timely filed.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for back condition was denied in a June 1996 Board decision. The Veteran filed an intent to file a claim form and submitted a formal application on August 30, 2023, which resulted in the award of service connection with an initial rating of 40% effective from that date.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of August 14, 2024 for the award of a 40 percent rating for service-connected chronic compression fracture at T7 with lumbar spondylosis and thoracolumbar strain.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for cervical spine strain, thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease and lumbosacral strain (back conditions), left lower extremity pain, right lower extremity pain, left shoulder strain, and right hip pain. The evidence does not show a nexus between these conditions and active duty.
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