The Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 40 percent for DDD of the lumbar spine from July 15, 2021 was denied. The evidence did not show unfavorable ankylosis or incapacitating episodes of IVDS lasting at least six weeks during the past 12 months.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not demonstrate unfavorable ankylosis or incapacitating episodes of IVDS lasting at least six weeks during the past 12 months, which are required for a disability rating in excess of 40 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- January 12, 2022
- Citation
- 22001591
Veterans Law Judge
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 22001591.
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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