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Granted

The Board has granted service connection for herniation of the lumbar spine at L4-5 and awarded a disability rating of 40 percent effective July 10, 2003. The Veteran's chronic low back strain with degenerative arthritic changes of the lumbar spine is currently rated as 20 percent disabling.

The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the herniation at L4-5 was etiologically related to active service and granted service connection on a new-and-material basis.

Claimed conditions
herniation of the lumbar spine at L4-5
How they argued it
Reopened with new and material evidence
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
40%
Decision date
September 9, 2009
Citation
0933837

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 0933837.

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.

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