The Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbar DDD secondary to his right ankle disability was granted with a retroactive effective date of June 24, 2002.
The deciding factor: The Veteran filed an earlier claim in March 1986 which was mischaracterized as a claim for a right hip disorder. The Board later granted service connection for lumbar DDD secondary to his right ankle disability in December 2006 and assigned the effective date of June 24, 2002.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- May 12, 2010
- Citation
- 1017536
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 1017536.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for lumbar degenerative disc disease, left and right knee strain with tendinitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. The TDIU claim was dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar degenerative arthritis, lumbar DDD, lumbosacral strain, and lumbar IVDS, as well as an increased rating of 50 percent from December 29, 2006 for the right fourth metacarpal fracture.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a neck condition, right knee condition, lumbar degenerative disc disease, and ankle disabilities, as there was no evidence linking them to the Veteran's active-duty service. The claim for balanitis xerotica obliterans is remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease to correct a duty to assist error and obtain additional evidence.
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