The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent, effective from the date of claim. The Board has granted a separate 20 percent rating for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity and a separate 20 percent rating for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity since May 16, 2012. A 50 percent rating is granted for the lumbar spine disability effective from November 3, 2014. The Veteran's chronic bronchitis has not been service-connected.
The deciding factor: The VA examination in October 2006 indicated that the Veteran had forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine to 32 degrees and a combined range of motion greater than 120 degrees, which meets the criteria for a 40 percent rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, chronic bronchitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- April 3, 2015
- Citation
- 1514524
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 1514524.
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 has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of adequate examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed chronic bronchitis. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition, which was denied in an initial decision. The VA examiner did not address the medical record indicating a current diagnosis of chronic bronchitis.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
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