The Veteran's lumbar spine disability was granted a 40% rating effective November 30, 2010. His cervical spine disability received a 20% rating effective the same date. The radiculopathy of his lower extremities were each assigned initial noncompensable ratings from February 12, 2009.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and medical records supported the Veteran's complaints of pain and limited mobility in his lumbar and cervical spine as well as his bilateral lower extremities. The disability was found to be service-connected on a direct basis without any presumption or secondary connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Lumbar Spine, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Cervical Spine, Radiculopathy of the Right Lower Extremity, Radiculopathy of the Left Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- February 3, 2014
- Citation
- 1404736
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 1404736.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for discontinuance of TDIU, reduction of disability rating for acquired psychiatric disorder, and reduction of disability rating for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity due to lack of response from the Veteran within the required timeframe.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is denied.,The Veteran's claim for an initial increased rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee degenerative arthritis is remanded due to inadequate examination report.
- Granted
The reduction of the Veteran's lumbar spine and cervical spine disability ratings from 40% to 20% was improper, and the prior ratings are restored.
- Denied
The Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine was found to not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating, as it did not result in forward flexion of 15 degrees or less and there was no evidence of favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine.
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