The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected low back disability is dismissed. The Board has granted the Veteran's TDIU claim, finding that he is unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The March 2012 VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability alone at least as likely as not prevented him from substantial gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- September 30, 2014
- Citation
- 1443599
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 1443599.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, effective February 2, 2020.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine and a separate 10 percent rating from March 21, 2016 to October 20, 2024 for right lower extremity radiculopathy associated with the service-connected lumbosacral spine condition. The claim for an increased rating for the right shoulder acromioclavicular separation was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates, as well as a TDIU claim, due to additional evidence received after the last SOC and the need for an updated examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation prior to December 7, 2011.
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