The Board has granted service connection for multilevel degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and denied non-service-connected disability pension benefits.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on a current diagnosis of multilevel degenerative disc disease related to an in-service injury, while pension eligibility was denied due to lack of qualifying wartime service.
- Claimed conditions
- multilevel degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19121756
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,812 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19121756.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a special home adaptation grant as they do not result in anatomical loss or use of both hands, blindness in both eyes, deep partial thickness burns, full thickness or subdermal burns, or residuals of an inhalation injury.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates for the initial 20 percent and subsequent 40 percent ratings for service-connected multilevel degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, as well as for service connection for right and left lower extremity radiculopathies.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to March 29, 2018. The issue of entitlement to a TDIU from March 29, 2018 was dismissed as moot.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for the initial evaluations of his spine and radiculopathy conditions. The Board dismissed the case as a result.
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