The Board denied service connection for a lumbosacral spine disability and denied an earlier effective date for TDIU. The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability is not related to active service or her service-connected right foot disability, and she was found employable prior to October 19, 2015.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s current lumbosacral spine disability is not related to active service or her service-connected right foot disability. The Board also found that the Veteran's employment history did not support a finding of total disability due to her service-connected disabilities prior to October 19, 2015.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral spine disability, major depressive disorder, right foot drop, right ankle degenerative arthritis, right foot metatarsalgia, right foot sesamoid bone fracture with degenerative changes of the great toe, left knee strain, painful scar of the right lower extremity, right lower extremity scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 90%
- Decision date
- October 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20066904
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,017 · Granted: 36% (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 20066904.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for his lumbosacral spine disability and for TDIU based on that condition due to inadequate examination. The case is being returned for further development.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of the appeal.
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