The Veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective May 5, 2017. The decision is based on the severity of his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment as of May 5, 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the spine, right lower extremity L5-S1 radiculopathy, left lower extremity L5-S1 radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19144656
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (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 19144656.
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 appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine was granted. The claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and residuals of head injuries and concussions are remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective date for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) prior to August 8, 2024, and dependency benefits from June 1, 2025, to August 8, 2025, for the school-aged child are both denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining relevant treatment records and inadequate VA medical opinions regarding secondary service connection.
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