The Board has granted an initial disability rating of 20 percent for the appellant's lumbar spine disability, effective May 10, 2018. The right shoulder scars are rated at 10 percent since March 24, 2018.
The deciding factor: The VA back examination conducted on March 23, 2023, showed the appellant's most limited range of motion after repeated use over time, which met the criteria for a 20 percent disability rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine and degenerative disc disease, surgical scars of the right shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 11, 2024
- Citation
- 24001972
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 785 · Granted: 27% (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 24001972.
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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The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted for the period from January 1, 2018 to January 28, 2020. The claims for an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected surgical scars of the right shoulder and service connection for a low back disability are remanded.
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