Prior to March 11, 2013, the Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability was rated at 20 percent.,From March 11, 2013 to January 18, 2016, the Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability warranted a rating of 40 percent.,Since January 19, 2016, the Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability has been rated at 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that prior to March 11, 2013, the Veteran’s forward flexion of the lumbar spine was limited to no more than 60 degrees after repetitive use. From March 11, 2013 to January 18, 2016, it was limited to 60 degrees, and from January 19, 2016 onwards, it was rated at 20 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19182734
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 19182734.
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 decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for his lumbosacral spine disability and for TDIU based on that condition due to inadequate examination. The case is being returned for further development.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbosacral spine disability, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the condition and active duty service or any other factor.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's sleep apnea is being remanded for a VA examination to determine if it is proximately due to or has undergone any incremental increase in disability due to his service-connected mental health, back, and shoulder disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in the previous VA examination, which did not discount the ameliorative effects of her pain medication. The case is also remanded for consideration of TDIU as part of the evaluation of her back disability.
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