The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent, and his right lower extremity radiculopathy and femoral radiculopathy are each rated at 20 percent. The depression rating remains at 70 percent.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a higher schedular rating for the lumbar spine disability due to lack of unfavorable ankylosis, and there is no evidence of incapacitating episodes of intervertebral disc syndrome.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, sciatic radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, femoral radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, rheumatoid arthritis (left knee with chondromalacia patella, status post-surgery), depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- November 1, 2018
- Citation
- 18146678
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 18146678.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including back pain, knee and wrist joint pains, neck pain, anxiety, depression, as further development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for depression was dismissed as the claim was fully resolved by a subsequent rating decision. The appeal for service connection for anxiety was denied due to insufficient evidence of a current disability.
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