The Veteran's increased rating claim for L4-L5 degenerative disc disease and right sciatica and decreased sensory neuropathy in the L4-L5 region was granted, with a disability rating of 20 percent. The effective date is not specified.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show that the Veteran had forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine limited to 30 degrees or less as required for a higher evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5243, nor did it show incapacitating episodes due to intervertebral disc syndrome. The Veteran's symptoms were found to be commensurate with the current 20 percent rating.
- Claimed conditions
- L4-L5 degenerative disc disease, Right sciatica and decreased sensory neuropathy in the L4-L5 region
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105384
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 19105384.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeals for all the listed issues, and the Board has dismissed them.
- Granted
The veteran's service-connected low back disability, characterized as L4-L5 degenerative disc disease with stenosis and lumbosacral strain, has been found to warrant a 40 percent evaluation due to severe symptoms including muscle spasm and pain.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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