The Veteran's disability rating for DDD of the lumbar spine at L5-S1 was granted, with a 40% rating effective January 21, 2010. Prior to this date, the Veteran demonstrated 30 degrees of thoracolumbar flexion.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's DDD did not result in additional functional loss due to pain or other factors during the period prior to January 21, 2010.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- December 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19190516
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 19190516.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to her service-connected disabilities, which include posttraumatic stress disorder and various musculoskeletal conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted a higher level of SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(t) for the Veteran's residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), effective March 2, 2022.
- Denied
The Veteran's degenerative disc disease, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity with sciatic nerve involvement, and left leg stress fracture are currently rated at 40 percent, 20 percent, and 10 percent respectively. The Board finds that these ratings adequately reflect the severity of the disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to a total disability based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to April 7, 2022, for further development and evidence collection.
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