The Veteran's degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was granted a rating of 40 percent for the period prior to December 17, 2015, and a rating of 30 percent thereafter. The decision is based on the criteria set forth in the VA’s Schedule for Rating Disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's disability met the criteria for a higher rating under the General Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine (General Formula) due to her limited range of motion, but not meeting the criteria for ankylosis or other specific conditions that would warrant a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Urinary incontinence
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- October 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19176218
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 claim for service connection of urinary incontinence to obtain an adequate VA opinion, specifically addressing secondary causation and aggravation by the Veteran's service-connected hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include alcohol use disorder, unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress, and PTSD was granted. Other claims for various conditions were denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment, thus granting a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death while it was pending.
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