The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his low back disability was granted, and an earlier effective date of October 15, 2013 for the award of a separate compensable rating for right lower extremity sciatica was also granted. The claims for increased ratings for left lower extremity sciatica and deviated nasal septum are still pending.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's discogenic disease with recurrent low back pain and spondylolisthesis at L5 on S1 more nearly approximated limitation of flexion to 30 degrees, which granted a rating of 40%.
- Claimed conditions
- Deviated Nasal Septum, Post-Traumatic, Post-Operative, Discogenic Disease, Left Lower Extremity Sciatica, Right Lower Extremity Sciatica
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- February 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19111904
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · 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 19111904.
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 denied service connection for various conditions, including heart disorder, GERD, liver disorder, and peripheral neuropathy. The decision also noted that the Veteran's sciatica was not incurred in service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by heart failure, which the Board finds may be service-connected through secondary service connection due to obesity resulting from his service-connected PTSD and back disability. However, VA failed to obtain a medical opinion addressing whether obesity is a substantial factor in causing heart failure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma under the PACT Act but denied service connection for GERD, right lower extremity sciatica, left lower extremity sciatica, and bilateral hearing loss.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for Bell's Palsy, bilateral hearing loss, contact dermatitis, migraines, and right lower extremity sciatica due to a lack of new and relevant evidence.
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