The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar spine DDD prior to March 27, 2012 was denied. The evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's forward flexion was limited to 80 degrees with painful motion at that point, which is within the range allowed by the current 10 percent rating. The combined range of motion did not exceed 120 degrees, and there were no indications of muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in abnormal gait or spinal contour.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19180822
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,810 · Granted: 23% (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 19180822.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error regarding the service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, including as aggravated by service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD).
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine disability, including spondylosis, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), facet joint arthritis, and L4-5 disc bulge, is now rated at 40 percent effective June 11, 2019.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's requests to appeal the May 12, 2023 rating decision that granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and denied service connection for lumbar spine DDD, left heel injury, and right knee injury. The reasons given were that the appeals were not timely filed.
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