The Veteran's left arm injury is found to be proximately due to his service-connected pes planus and lumbar spine disabilities. The Board grants a disability rating of 20 percent for the service-connected DDD of the lumbar spine, effective from July 13, 2008.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's left arm injury is found to be proximately due to his service-connected pes planus and lumbar spine disabilities. The VA examiner opined that it would be mere speculation to state with any degree of certainty the specific cause of the left arm condition, but concluded that the Veteran's flatfoot condition may have contributed to the fall which resulted in a broken left arm.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the Lumbar Spine, Left Arm Injury
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2016
- Citation
- 1616046
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1616046.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and associated bilateral lower extremity radiculopathies rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from June 30, 2006, onward. The Board granted a 20% disability rating for the period on appeal (not including any periods of convalescence) due to severe muscle spasm and guarding resulting in abnormal gait or spinal contour.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ's decision denying service connection for OSA, claimed as secondary to service-connected psychiatric disorder and DDD of the lumbar spine, is flawed due to a failure to consider whether obesity was an intermediate step in the development of OSA. The case is being remanded to obtain an addendum medical opinion.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD symptoms more nearly approximate the criteria for a 70 percent rating, warranting an increased rating.,Service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD) and degenerative arthritis is remanded due to insufficient evidence in the record.,The Veteran's current employment status does not affect his entitlement to service connection for DDD and degenerative arthritis.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and a lower back disorder, finding that the obesity aggravated by the service-connected left knee disability was a substantial factor in causing these conditions.
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