The veteran's nonservice-connected disabilities, including degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine and bilateral wrist fractures, show him to be unable to obtain or retain substantially gainful employment. The Board grants a VA pension based on these conditions.
The deciding factor: The veteran's combined disability rating is 40%, which does not meet the schedular criteria for a 100% evaluation. However, his disabilities are considered under subjective criteria due to age, occupational background, and other related factors, warranting an extra-schedular pension based on his inability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, right-sided sciatic irritation, tardy ulnar nerve palsy of the right upper extremity, tardy ulnar nerve palsy of the left upper extremity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchitis, right upper quadrant tenderness of undetermined etiology, bilateral recent Colles fractures of the wrists
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- April 17, 2002
- Citation
- 0203493
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 0203493.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between the Veteran's current disability and his active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypertension, an increased rating for a stroke and stroke residuals, and an increased rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps on a presumptive basis due to presumed exposure to fine particulate matter during active service in Southwest Asia. The claims for sleep apnea syndrome and degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine were remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 40 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine from February 20, 2013 to January 22, 2020, exclusive of a convalescence period. The other claims were denied.
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