The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability has been rated at 20 percent since October 1, 2005. The claim for a higher initial rating is denied.,Prior to August 23, 2012, the Veteran was not entitled to separate ratings for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy associated with his lumbosacral spine disability. Since that date, he has been rated at 10 percent each for these manifestations of his service-connected low back disability.,Effective August 23, 2012, the Veteran's right leg radiculopathy is rated as 10 percent disabling and his left leg radiculopathy is also rated as 10 percent disabling.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a higher rating for the lumbosacral spine disability or any associated lower extremity radiculopathy prior to August 23, 2012. Effective that date, separate ratings of at least 10 percent are warranted for each manifestation.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- June 20, 2013
- Citation
- 1319991
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 1319991.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for his lumbosacral spine disability and for TDIU based on that condition due to inadequate examination. The case is being returned for further development.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbosacral spine disability, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the condition and active duty service or any other factor.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's sleep apnea is being remanded for a VA examination to determine if it is proximately due to or has undergone any incremental increase in disability due to his service-connected mental health, back, and shoulder disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in the previous VA examination, which did not discount the ameliorative effects of her pain medication. The case is also remanded for consideration of TDIU as part of the evaluation of her back disability.
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