The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are reasonably shown to be of such nature and severity as to prevent him from maintaining substantially gainful employment, thus meeting the criteria for a TDIU rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected musculoskeletal disabilities, including his low back disability, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, and right knee disability, prevent him from returning to previous employment activities.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic low back pain, lumbar disc disease with degenerative arthritis, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity (sciatic nerve), radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (sciatic nerve), degenerative arthritis of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 90%
- Decision date
- August 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19161010
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (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 19161010.
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 has been dismissed due to their death. The claims for increased ratings and individual unemployability have all been dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to predecisional duty-to-assist errors, including inadequate medical opinions and missed VA examinations. The Veteran's claim for service connection for a back condition is being returned to the RO for further action.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's chronic low back pain was incurred in service and continues to this day, granting her claim for service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's thoracolumbar disorder, including arthritis, thoracic spine scoliosis with degenerative changes, DDD, and chronic low back pain, is granted service connection. Service connection for a cervical strain is denied.
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