The Veteran's initial claim for increased ratings for DDD of the lumbar spine and associated radiculopathy was denied. The Veteran is currently evaluated at 40 percent disabling for DDD of the lumbar spine.,For the period from July 11, 2013 to June 25, 2015, the Veteran's left lower extremity radiculopathy associated with DDD of the lumbar spine was evaluated at 20 percent. The Board found that this evaluation is appropriate and denied a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show more than moderate incomplete paralysis involving sciatic nerve of the left lower extremity for the period from July 11, 2013 to June 25, 2015.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, Left lower extremity radiculopathy associated with DDD of the lumbar spine, Right lower extremity radiculopathy associated with DDD of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- December 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20080104
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 20080104.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there is a need for additional medical examination and opinion to address the Veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability, including DDD of the lumbar spine. The current VA opinions are deemed inadequate due to their failure to consider the Veteran's lay reports of in-service injury and continuous symptomatology since service.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and bilateral hearing loss, do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was denied as his symptoms did not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher evaluation.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for OSA as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected DDD of the lumbar spine, finding that his service-connected condition aggravated his nonservice-connected OSA.
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