The Board granted a higher initial disability rating of 40 percent for the service connected DDD of the thoracolumbar spine, effective from April 10, 2006. The decision also addressed an earlier effective date and dismissed a CUE motion.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's DDD of the thoracolumbar spine more nearly approximated painful limitation of motion with flare-ups resulting in forward flexion limited to 30 degrees or less, with favorable ankylosis of the spine, and without incapacitating episodes.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar and thoracic spine disabilities, DDD of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- February 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20013647
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 20013647.
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 was continuously pursued, and the appellant is eligible to charge agent fees based on past-due benefits awarded in the June 2024 rating decision.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a left lower extremity nerve disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected DDD of the thoracolumbar spine. The Veteran was also granted TDIU on a schedular basis for the time period prior to May 3, 2022.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for right shoulder tendinitis and DDD of the thoracolumbar spine have been dismissed as he requested to cancel his scheduled Board hearing and withdraw his appeals.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the schedular criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to July 16, 2012. The Board found that the Veteran was employed full-time as an electrician from 2007 to 2013 and did not raise entitlement to an extraschedular TDIU.
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