The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment as of April 26, 2016. The Board granted an effective date of April 26, 2016 for the TDIU.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Veteran’s physical limitations due to his service-connected disabilities, when considered with his education and work history, combined rendered him unable to obtain and maintain a substantially gainful occupation as of April 26, 2016.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Left arm scar, Triceps and brachioradialis muscle injury (MG V and MG VI), Extensors of the wrist, fingers, and thumb muscle injury, Ulnar neuropathy at the left elbow (ulnar nerve), Ulnar neuropathy of the left elbow (left forearm limitation of flexion), Ulnar neuropathy of the left elbow (supination and pronation), Ulnar neuropathy of the left elbow (limitation of extension)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20004178
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · Granted: 23% (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 20004178.
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's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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