The Veteran's lumbar spine disability rating was reduced from 40 percent to 20 percent effective December 11, 2017. The Board finds that the reduction was not proper and void ab initio.
The deciding factor: The DRO failed to address the entire recorded history of the Veteran's lumbar back condition and whether there was an actual change in the disability.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- March 27, 2018
- Citation
- 1818477
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 1818477.
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 Board denied service connection for a lumbar back disability, finding that the Veteran's condition did not manifest during active service or until many years after service and is not shown to be causally related to an in-service event.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran's tinnitus is service-connected. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, lumbar back disability, and bilateral feet disability are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent, effective October 15, 2007. The increased ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy are denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for lumbar back disability, nose cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma. The soft tissue sarcoma claim was remanded due to the need for further evaluation.
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