The reduction of disability rating from 40 percent to 20 percent for the Veteran's lumbar spine condition effective December 1, 2016 was proper.,The reduction of disability rating from 30 percent to 10 percent for the Veteran's cervical spine condition effective December 1, 2016 was proper.
The deciding factor: Examinations showed significant improvement in the Veteran’s functional impairment. His range of forward flexion in all three examinations was above 30 degrees, and combined range of motion is above 170 degrees.,Examinations showed significant improvement in the Veteran’s functional impairment. His range of forward flexion in all three examinations was above 30 degrees.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbar Spine Condition, Cervical Spine Condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- March 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19118202
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,429 · Granted: 29% (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 19118202.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to new and relevant evidence received, including VA examinations and opinions that tend to prove or disprove the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The cervical spine condition is denied as there was no in-service onset or chronicity.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for a right knee strain. The cases of cervical spine condition, left upper extremity nerve condition, left lower extremity condition (radiculopathy), right shoulder condition, and left shoulder condition are remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for gastritis with duodenitis and service connection for a left thumb condition, lumbar spine condition, and breast cancer and female reproductive health conditions due to inadequate evidence and failure to ensure VA fulfilled its duty to assist in obtaining private treatment records.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for IBS, chronic fatigue syndrome, and increased ratings for bilateral foot conditions and bilateral hearing loss. The TBI, cervical spine, left knee, right knee, lower left extremity neurological condition, lower right extremity neurological condition, and neuropathy of the right ankle residuals were remanded.
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