The Veteran's hypertension is granted service connection and rated at 10 percent. The cervical spine strain with DDD, left hip limitation of flexion, right hip limitation of flexion, right hip limitation of extension, left hip limitation of extension, impairment of the right thigh, and impairment of the left thigh are all denied ratings in excess of 10 percent.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hypertension was shown to be present within one year of her separation from service and is not attributable to intercurrent causes. The cervical spine strain with DDD does not meet criteria for a higher rating as it only limits flexion to 40 degrees, which is less than the required 30 degrees for a 20 percent rating. The left hip limitation of flexion, right hip limitation of flexion, and right hip limitation of extension all limit flexion beyond 45 degrees but do not meet criteria for higher ratings as they are still within the range allowed by a 10 percent rating. The left hip limitation of extension and impairment of the thigh both limit extension to more than 5 degrees, which is within the range allowed by a 10 percent rating.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, cervical spine strain with degenerative disc disease (DDD), left hip limitation of flexion due to degenerative joint disease (DJD) with trochanteric bursitis, right hip limitation of flexion due to DJD with trochanteric bursitis, limitation of extension of the right hip due to DJD with trochanteric bursitis, left hip limitation of extension due to DJD with trochanteric bursitis, impairment of the right thigh due to DJD with trochanteric bursitis, impairment of the left thigh due to DJD with trochanteric bursitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20068704
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (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 20068704.
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
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