The Veteran's service-connected lumbar stenosis and bilateral sciatic radiculopathy prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment, leading to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to July 25, 1978.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's back disabilities prevented him from performing any consistent work, including sedentary work.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar stenosis, bilateral sciatic radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- February 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19109756
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,506 · Granted: 43% (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 19109756.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbar spondylosis and stenosis, finding that there is at least a 50/50 balance of evidence to support his claim due to continuity of symptoms since service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for a rating in excess of 20 percent for service-connected lumbar stenosis and DDD status post-laminectomy with cervical scars, and for a compensable disability rating for scars status-post laminectomy are denied.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for high blood pressure is remanded as there was insufficient evidence to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disability.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine or neck disability, and for a prostate disability are denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee patella femoral pain syndrome, left knee patella femoral pain syndrome, and lumbar stenosis as new and relevant evidence had not been received to readjudicate these claims.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for TDIU is dismissed as moot due to the grant of a higher rating for migraine headaches.,The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation of PTSD with alcohol use disorder is dismissed.
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