The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar DDD was denied. A separate 10 percent rating for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity is granted, effective May 12, 2010. The Veteran's claim for a TDIU was also denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not find forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine to be less than or equal to 60 degrees and no muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or spinal contour. The Veteran's back disability does not prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbar Sprain with Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD), Radiculopathy of the Left Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19100658
Veterans Law Judge
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 19100658.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for discontinuance of TDIU, reduction of disability rating for acquired psychiatric disorder, and reduction of disability rating for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity due to lack of response from the Veteran within the required timeframe.
- Denied
The Board found that the evidence did not show an actual improvement in the Veteran's conditions, and thus denied the reduction requests for his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability is granted service connection.,Service connection for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities are also granted.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased rating for PTSD, a TDIU prior to July 13, 2019, and increased ratings for the lumbar spine disability and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity.
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