The Board has determined that the veteran's lumbosacral degenerative joint and disc disease is at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected bilateral hallux valgus disability, resulting in a grant of service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: A VA physician provided an opinion supporting the claim based on the veteran's history of abnormal gait due to his service-connected foot disabilities accelerating his degenerative spine issues.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral degenerative joint and disc disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2004
- Citation
- 0401125
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (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 0401125.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for various disabilities, including bilateral foot and knee conditions and lumbosacral degenerative joint disease, all secondary to obesity caused by service-connected PTSD. The Veteran's hearing loss claim was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA examination and opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current back disability is etiologically related to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lumbosacral degenerative joint and disc disease is rated at 40 percent, but the Board has remanded for further evaluation due to worsening symptoms. The TDIU claim is also being remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected low back and right lower extremity disabilities have worsened, necessitating new VA examinations. The increased rating claims are remanded as they could significantly impact the TDIU claim.
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