The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a hysterectomy with scar tissue was granted. The Veteran also received an initial disability rating of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine from November 1, 2010. However, the claim for a higher rating for lower back disability was denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Veteran had current degenerative arthritis in her lumbar spine and that this condition was related to her service-connected hysterectomy. The Board found that the preponderance of the evidence supported granting service connection for the residuals of the hysterectomy, but did not find sufficient evidence to grant a higher rating for the lower back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of hysterectomy, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20000649
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · Granted: 24% (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 20000649.
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 lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 40% prior to September 28, 2018. From that date, the rating was increased to 50%. The earlier effective date for TDIU is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the other claims. The Veteran's hearing loss claim is denied as there was no evidence of a current disability during or after active service.
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