The Veteran's back disability was restored to a 20% rating effective July 1, 1998. A 60% rating for degenerative disc disease of L5-S1 from July 1, 1998 is granted. The Veteran also received a TDIU.
The deciding factor: The reduction in the Veteran's disability rating was improper due to failure to report for a VA examination and the Veteran provided sufficient good cause.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease L5-S1, Low back pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- February 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19108342
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,549 · Granted: 26% (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 19108342.
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 found that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for eligibility in the PCAFC program due to insufficient evidence showing a need for personal care services, and thus denied the appeal.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back condition is related to his service-connected left knee replacement residuals and grants service connection for this secondary condition.
- Denied
The Board has denied the appellant's claims for service connection for treatment purposes only under 38 USC Chapter 17 for a disability of the spine and migraine headaches, as there is no evidence to support a nexus between these conditions and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim for service connection of low back pain due to a motor vehicle accident during service. The Veteran's lay statements and a buddy statement support his assertion that his back pain began after the 1982 motor vehicle accident. However, both VA examiners provided opinions that were inadequate as they did not consider these statements.
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