The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability evaluation for his back condition is dismissed. The effective date of service connection for degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine, remains January 27, 2012.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal for a higher schedular disability for his back condition at his July 2019 hearing and in a July 2019 statement in support of claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19185291
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The appeal for an increased rating for left hip, the claims for entitlement to an earlier effective date and an increased rating for right knee strain, and the appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left shoulder strain were dismissed. The claim for a 40 percent rating from June 24, 2021 for degenerative disc disease was granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a lumbar spine disability as secondary to a cervical spine disability due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a higher initial rating of 40 percent for degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease, lumbosacral strain, and scoliosis, but remanded the other issues.
- Granted
The veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities.
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