The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected degenerative joint disease, lumbar spine, status post multilevel fusion with spondylolisthesis, L5-S1 was denied. The claim for compensation for surgical scars associated with the same condition also failed to meet the criteria for a compensable rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's disability did not show unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine and there were no signs or symptoms of radiculopathy, sensory deficits, or neurologic abnormalities. The Veteran’s functional loss was noted but not significant enough to warrant a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease, Spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- June 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19145891
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (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 19145891.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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