The Board found that the Veteran's current low back disorder, including degenerative disc disease L5-S1 and herniated disc at L4-5, was aggravated by his service-connected instability of the right knee.
The deciding factor: The aggravation of the Veteran's pre-existing lumbar spine condition by his service-connected right knee disability is established based on medical evidence showing that the Veteran's back problems worsened due to his altered gait and increased stress on his back from his right knee issues.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease L5-S1, Herniated disc at L4-5
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 15, 2013
- Citation
- 1312433
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 1312433.
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 Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings were denied as he failed to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause, and the evidence did not show an increase in severity of his service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and TDIU due to deficiencies in the VA examinations and missing records.
- Granted
The Veteran's headaches are rated at 30 percent effective December 11, 2019. The Veteran's degenerative disc disease L5-S1 is currently rated at 20 percent. Separate ratings of 20 percent each are granted for left and right lower extremity radiculopathies.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to lack of substantial compliance with remand directives, specifically regarding obtaining a retrospective medical opinion for the period from March 7, 2011 to April 17, 2017.
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