The Veteran's cervical spine degenerative disc disease is currently rated at 30 percent, and the appeal for a higher rating is denied.,A separate 40 percent rating for right upper extremity radiculopathy as of May 10, 2017, is granted. The appeal for a higher rating is denied.,The Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc disease is currently rated at 20 percent and the appeal for a higher rating is denied.,A separate 10 percent rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy was proper prior to May 10, 2017. The appeal for a higher rating is denied.,The Veteran's surgical scar of the cervical spine is currently rated as noncompensable and the appeal for a higher rating is denied.,The Veteran's surgical scar of the lumbar spine was properly assigned a noncompensable rating and the appeal for a higher rating is denied.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine, which would warrant a higher rating under the General Rating Formula.,The Veteran's RUE radiculopathy resulted in moderate incomplete paralysis as of May 10, 2017, and this does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,There is no evidence of unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine, which would warrant a higher rating under the General Rating Formula.,The Veteran's RLE radiculopathy resulted in mild incomplete paralysis prior to May 10, 2017 and moderate incomplete paralysis as of May 10, 2017. This does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,The Veteran's surgical scar of the cervical spine did not result in any characteristic of disfigurement or instability warranting a compensable rating.,The Veteran's surgical scar of the lumbar spine did not result in any characteristic of disfigurement, instability, or size warranting a compensable rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical spine degenerative disc disease, Lumbar spine degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19117229
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (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 19117229.
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