The Veteran's disability rating for his service-connected back disability was reduced from 20% to 10%, effective October 1, 2015. The Board found that the reduction was improper due to a failure to follow procedural requirements and restored the original 20% rating.
The deciding factor: The reduction in disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected back disability from 20% to 10% was void ab initio due to the RO's failure to properly follow the procedural requirements set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.105(e).
- Claimed conditions
- back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- June 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19149423
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back disability, and other conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability related to the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Veteran was awarded service connection for allergic rhinitis based on the PACT Act, but an earlier effective date prior to August 10, 2022, is not warranted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a back disability, effective immediately. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for left knee tendonitis with patellofemoral pain syndrome and degenerative joint disease based on limitation of flexion from October 4, 2024, to the present, and a 50 percent rating for the same condition from February 5, 2025, to the present.
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