The Board granted a higher initial rating of 20 percent for the Veteran's service-connected degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine effective April 16, 2009.
The deciding factor: The VA compensation examination conducted in January 2012 supported the grant of a higher initial rating based on the severity of the disability from that date onwards.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease and Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbosacral Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- August 9, 2012
- Citation
- 1227579
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 1227579.
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
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's back disability was rated at 10% from March 1, 2010 to February 10, 2012. From February 10, 2012, the rating was increased to 20%. The TDIU claim is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability is rated at 40 percent, effective from May 1, 2002. The issue of entitlement to TDIU due to service-connected disabilities has been raised and addressed in the decision.
- Granted
The veteran is factually housebound due to his service-connected PTSD with depression prior to September 28, 2005 and beginning July 1, 2006. Special monthly compensation based on housebound status has been granted.
- 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.
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