The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is granted as secondary to his service-connected bilateral ankle disabilities. The RO also granted initial ratings of 20% for each of the Veteran's ankles, effective June 8, 2010.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided a positive nexus opinion linking the Veteran's lumbar spine DDD to his service-connected bilateral ankle disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of Lumbar Spine, Ankle Disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- March 20, 2018
- Citation
- 1816570
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 1816570.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial claim for higher ratings for his left shoulder disability and DDD of the lumbar spine was denied. The Veteran had a higher rating (20%) granted for his left shoulder disability since June 28, 2017, but no greater rating is warranted. His DDD of the lumbar spine remains at a 20% rating from May 11, 2012 to September 9, 2019 and higher than that since then.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims due to incomplete consideration of evidence and need for further examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The RO reduced the ratings for several service-connected conditions, but found that the reductions were not supported by evidence of actual improvement. The case is remanded to determine if there has been an actual change in the Veteran's ability to function under ordinary life conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating of various disabilities due to incomplete records, inadequate medical opinions, and need for further examinations.
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