The Veteran's lumbar DDD has been granted a restoration of a 40 percent rating, effective the date of reduction.,Service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to service-connected lumbar DDD at the L4 vertebra is granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lumbar DDD has not improved to the point of warranting a reduction in his rating, and the evidence does not show any sustained improvement of his symptoms that is reasonably certain to be maintained under the ordinary conditions of life.,Service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy is granted because it was proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar DDD at the L4 vertebra.
- Claimed conditions
- headaches, hypertension (not specified), left ankle healed fracture at the medial malleolus, left hand nerve damage, left hand third finger degenerative joint disease (DJD), left lower extremity radiculopathy, left shoulder degenerative arthritis, lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD), lumbar spine DDD at the L4 vertebra, major depressive disorder with other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder, right hip disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy or nerve damage secondary to lumbar DDD
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19192692
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,506 · Granted: 43% (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 19192692.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining clarification from the August 2017 VA examiner regarding which symptoms are related to his service-connected left trapezius strain and whether any non-service-connected conditions represent a progression of that disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
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