The Veteran's back disability was granted a rating of 20 percent since November 5, 2014. The evidence shows the Veteran has limited range of motion in her lumbar spine after this date.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s forward flexion was limited to no less than 60 degrees and provided a functional impact assessment which supported an increased rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the thoracic and lumbar spines, IVDS
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19126409
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (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 19126409.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's increased rating claims for RLE and LLE radiculopathy have been dismissed.,The Veteran's increased rating claim for lumbar spine disability has been denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's back conditions and her service connection claim. The VA will obtain a new opinion from a qualified examiner.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings, finding that the earliest possible effective date was September 9, 2022.
- Partly granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates for service connection and a higher disability rating for the Veteran's psychiatric condition.
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