The Board has restored the Veteran's disability ratings for his back disability and bilateral plantar fasciitis, effective October 1, 2019.
The deciding factor: The reduction of the disability ratings was not based on improvement in the Veteran’s ability to function under the ordinary conditions of life and work.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine spondylolisthesis, spondylolysis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- October 23, 2020
- Citation
- A20015938
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 A20015938.
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 spondylolysis was granted a 40 percent rating from November 25, 2013 to October 26, 2023. The condition resulted in forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine being limited to 20 degrees during use over time.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding whether the Veteran's low back disorder is related to service or caused by his service-connected bilateral foot disability.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's attorney has withdrawn the appeal, and thus the claims for increased ratings are dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar and cervical spine spondylolisthesis as moot because they had already been adjudicated.
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