The Veteran's DDD lumbar spine and right lower extremity sciatica were aggravated during his ACDUTRA service, warranting service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The private opinion found that the Veteran’s condition was aggravated beyond its natural progression by activities he engaged in while in military service.
- Claimed conditions
- DDD lumbar spine, right lower extremity sciatica
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19196368
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,549 · Granted: 29% (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 19196368.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased disability ratings for lumbar spine arthritis and right lower extremity sciatica have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral lower extremity sciatica, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain. The decision is based on a finding of reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals regarding service connection for left and right lower extremity sciatica, leading to the dismissal of these claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for lower back pain, left and right lower extremity sciatica due to a lack of VA examinations and medical opinions addressing the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions. The Veteran was not provided with an addendum opinion reconciling his in-service injury with post-service motor vehicle accident.
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