The reduction of the Veteran’s disability rating for a lumbosacral strain (lumbar spine disability) from 20 percent to 10 percent was improper, and restoration of the 20 percent disability rating is granted, effective October 1, 2010.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not demonstrate sustained and material improvement in the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability that would be maintained under the ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain (lumbar spine disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- March 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19120283
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,738 · Granted: 17% (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 19120283.
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 appellant is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits, effective September 1, 2020.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbosacral strain was granted service connection with a 20% disability rating. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and left knee disability were denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's increased rating claims for various joint and headache disabilities are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports that did not consider all of the Veteran's symptomology.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, left lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy, and left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy. The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is found to be directly related to his active-duty service. His left lower extremity radiculopathies are also found to be due to his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
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