The Veteran's lumbar spine disability was denied initial compensable ratings prior to May 15, 2014 and increased rating as of that date. The appeal for TDIU is granted.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on limitation of motion or ankylosis.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine (back) disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19194849
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (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 19194849.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine, left knee, right knee, right wrist, headaches, and sleep disturbances as there is no persuasive evidence of current disabilities during the appeal period.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for headaches, cervical spine disability, and lumbar spine disability. The Board dismissed these issues as a result.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded several issues for further development, including service connection claims for various conditions and a rating for hearing loss. The Veteran's claims for chronic fatigue syndrome, headaches, hypertension, gastrointestinal disorder, sinusitis, acquired psychiatric disorder, right knee scar, lumbar spine disability, left shoulder disability, and bilateral hearing loss are all being reviewed.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability, including degenerative arthritis of the spine following a L4-L5 laminectomy. The decision is based on evidence that connects the current back condition to active military service.
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