The Veteran's cervical spine disability was not rated higher than 10 percent prior to February 9, 2016 and was not rated higher than 30 percent after that date.,Prior to October 27, 2014, the Veteran's lumbar spine disability did not warrant a compensable rating. Beginning October 27, 2014, and prior to February 9, 2016, he was granted a 20 percent rating for this condition.,Beginning February 9, 2016, the Veteran's lumbar spine disability did not warrant a higher than 40 percent rating.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support ratings in excess of those assigned based on the lack of ankylosis and functional loss due to pain.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine with strain, Lumbar spine degenerative disc disease and spondylolysis with minimal anterolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19100654
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19100654.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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