The Board finds that the Veteran's current DDD and DJD of lumbosacral spine with HNP at L5-S1 and disc bulge at L4-L5 is related to his service-connected left leg disability, thus granting service connection for a back disability.,There is no evidence linking the Veteran's varicose veins to his active duty service or any other factor. The Board denies service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's current DDD and DJD of lumbosacral spine with HNP at L5-S1 and disc bulge at L4-L5 is related to his service-connected left leg disability, as evidenced by the Veteran's history of knee injury during service and subsequent development of back problems.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) and Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of lumbosacral spine with herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP) at L5-S1 and disc bulge at L4-L5, Varicose veins of the left leg
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 2, 2016
- Citation
- 1603468
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 1603468.
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 Veteran's TDIU claim is granted for the period beginning May 1, 2020, as he has a combined disability rating of 100% due to service-connected disabilities and was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.
- Denied
The Veteran's varicose veins of the left leg are currently rated at 40 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted based on the symptoms described. The claim for an extraschedular rating was also denied as the criteria reasonably describe the Veteran's disability level.
- Granted
The Veteran's varicose veins of the left leg have been granted a disability rating of 40 percent effective November 12, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for varicose veins of the left leg was denied, and his TDIU claim due to service-connected varicose veins was remanded. The Board found that there were no persistent edema or stasis pigmentation/eczema in the left leg at any point during the appeal period.
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