The veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his low back disability and loss of use of lower extremities, would have met the statutory duration requirements for a total disability rating at the time of his death but for clear and unmistakable error in the December 1996 RO rating decision. The effective date should be August 30, 1990.
The deciding factor: The veteran's service-connected disabilities would have met the statutory duration requirements if not for CUE in the December 1996 RO rating decision that improperly assigned an effective date of February 6, 1992. The earliest documentation by VA showing his low back disability more closely approximating a 60 percent schedular rating and rendering him unemployable was dated on August 30, 1990.
- Claimed conditions
- herniated nucleus pulposus, L5-S1, loss of use of lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- December 29, 2006
- Citation
- 0640230
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,613 · Granted: 30% (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 0640230.
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 determined that there were duty to assist errors in the VA opinions regarding the Veteran's herniated nucleus pulposus and knee meniscal tears, necessitating remand for additional development.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran not timely filing a Notice of Disagreement.
- Granted
The veteran was granted a 40% rating for their herniated nucleus pulposus, L5-S1 both prior to July 31, 2017 and from September 1, 2017.
- Granted
The Veteran's earlier effective date for special monthly compensation (m) is granted from March 15, 2011 to March 8, 2012. The Board also grants an earlier effective date prior to June 18, 2014, for entitlement to special monthly compensation (p)(m1/2).
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