The Board has determined that the Veteran is unemployable due to service-connected disabilities and grants a total disability rating based on individual unemployability, effective August 12, 2019.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran's service-connected conditions have significantly impacted his ability to maintain substantially gainful employment consistent with his educational and occupational background.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Chronic sensory-motor distal peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity (formerly evaluated as lumbar radiculopathy of peripheral neuropathy), Diabetes mellitus, type II, Dry eyes associated with diabetes mellitus, type II, Peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity, Scar, laceration of the right side of the jaw, Incipient cataracts, each eye (associated with diabetes mellitus, type II)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- August 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19162239
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · 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 19162239.
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 has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and higher initial rating for his back disability is denied. The effective date remains March 29, 2021, as the earliest date of claim. An initial rating in excess of 20 percent for the back disability from March 29, 2021, is also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability and right leg radiculopathy are granted service connection, but left leg radiculopathy is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU, finding that his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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