The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40% due to incapacitating episodes of IVDS, and he is granted a separate 10% rating for radiculopathy in the right lower extremity. The TDIU claim is not addressed as it was not part of the appeal.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lumbar spine disability with associated IVDS resulted in incapacitating episodes totaling at least 4 weeks but less than 6 weeks per year, warranting a higher rating of 40% under Diagnostic Code 5243. The right lower extremity radiculopathy is rated separately as mild.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease and disc bulges of the lumbar spine with bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- July 30, 2009
- Citation
- 0928375
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 0928375.
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 Veteran's disability picture, as it relates to his service-connected lumbar spine disability, cannot be characterized as an exceptional case so as to render the schedular evaluation inadequate. The evidence of record demonstrates that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities preclude him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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