The Board has granted a 10 percent rating for the veteran's low back disability since December 1, 1998. The RO increased this to 20 percent effective December 1, 1998 and then to 40 percent effective May 11, 2004. The veteran's right buttock and posterior thigh sciatica are rated at 10 percent, while the radiculopathy of the left lower extremity is also rated at 10 percent.
The deciding factor: The RO considered all relevant evidence including VA examinations and medical records to determine appropriate disability ratings for the veteran's conditions. The decision reflects a staged rating based on different stages of the veteran's low back disability, with higher ratings assigned since May 11, 2004 when the condition worsened.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- May 4, 2006
- Citation
- 0613047
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,458 · Granted: 24% (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 0613047.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability was granted with an effective date of January 9, 2018. The Board accepted her November 21, 2019 VA Form 20-0996 as a valid opt-in of the April 2019 SOC into the modernized review system.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal concerning diabetes and a low back disability has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
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