The Board determined that the reduction of the rating for degenerative disc disease, L5-S1 from 60 percent to 10 percent was proper and did not warrant restoration of a higher evaluation.
The deciding factor: Improvement in the service-connected lumbar spine disability was shown by medical evidence, and the criteria for a higher evaluation were not met based on the veteran's ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease, L5-S1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2008
- Citation
- 0814144
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · 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 0814144.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and TDIU due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error and will schedule the Veteran for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his lumbar spine disability, including whether it manifests in the functional equivalent of ankylosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for his back condition remains pending before the Board. The case is remanded due to unclear functional limitations reported in May 2021 opinion and need for clarification regarding the period of appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a TDIU effective October 1, 2004 due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
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