The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is granted a 20 percent rating for the period prior to March 10, 2015 and a 20 percent rating since that date.,A 20 percent rating is granted for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability effective May 27, 2010.,Service connection for hypertension, left elbow disability, sleep disorder disability, and cervical spine disability are denied.,The Veteran's lumbar spine disability meets the criteria for a 20 percent rating since March 10, 2015.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lumbar spine disability does not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating prior to March 10, 2015.,The earliest evidence of entitlement to a 20 percent disability rating for service-connected lumbar spine disability is May 27, 2010.,There is no current evidence of a bilateral hearing loss disability by VA standards.,Service connection for hypertension, left elbow disability, sleep disorder disability, and cervical spine disability cannot be established.
- Claimed conditions
- Thoracolumbar strain, Lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 21, 2021
- Citation
- A21017082
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 A21017082.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for headaches and lumbar spine disability, as well as left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, were denied. The effective dates for these conditions are also denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was denied because the disability is not shown as chronic in service and did not manifest to a compensable degree within the applicable presumptive period; continuity of symptomatology is not established; and the disability is not otherwise etiologically related to an in-service injury or disease.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability was denied because the disability was not shown as chronic in service and did not manifest to a compensable degree within the applicable presumptive period; continuity of symptomatology is not established; and the disability is not otherwise etiologically related to an in-service injury or disease.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) was denied because there is no evidence of loss of consciousness or memory impairment following the motor vehicle accident during service, and post-service VA treatment records do not show a diagnosis of TBI.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for obstructive sleep apnea is granted, and his increased rating claim for lumbar spine disability is also granted to a 40 percent rating.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) with agoraphobia with panic attacks as directly related to military service.
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