The veteran's lumbosacral spine and left ankle disabilities have been granted initial compensable evaluations.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the veteran's back pain and arthralgias were related to his injury in service, while his left ankle disability was due to a motor vehicle accident in service.
- Claimed conditions
- arthralgia of the lumbosacral spine, degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the left ankle
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 8, 2002
- Citation
- 0200194
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 0200194.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeals for increased disability ratings in excess of 40 percent for arthralgia of the lumbosacral spine and for a bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for DJD of the lumbar spine, bilateral ankles, bilateral feet, COPD, a cardiovascular disorder, and PTSD due to incomplete records from Social Security Administration (SSA).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left knee and left ankle disabilities due to the need for updated VA examinations.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including arthralgia of the lumbosacral spine, depressive disorder, radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremity, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)/gastritis, combine to be 70 percent disabling. The Board finds that these conditions prevent the Veteran from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
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