The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disorder meets the criteria for a 60 percent disability rating.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence shows severe limitation of motion and pronounced symptoms in the left lower extremity, including sciatic neuropathy.
- Claimed conditions
- herniated nucleus pulposus at L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2003
- Citation
- 0307651
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,643 · Granted: 15% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0307651.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to issues regarding functional loss during flare-ups and after repeated use of the back, as well as the adequacy of previous VA examination reports.
- Whole decision: Granted
The claim for service connection for a low back disability is granted, but the Veteran's appeal is remanded to obtain additional medical records and provide an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of the condition.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for higher ratings on his low back disability, right shoulder disability, left ankle disability, and residuals of a right fifth metacarpal fracture were denied. His claim for TDIU was also denied.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied all of the Veteran's claims, including service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea. The low back disability claim was also denied as there is no evidence that it began during or because of service.
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