The Veteran's lumbar disability was not service-connected at the time of his surgery in December 2019, so he cannot be granted a temporary total rating for convalescence.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the lumbar disability had not been established by the RO when the Veteran had his surgery in December 2019.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2024
- Citation
- A24020701
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 A24020701.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy on the basis of CUE in the February 1996 rating decision have been denied. The May 2022 rating decision is also dismissed as it failed to grant service connection.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis and continuous low back symptomology since separation from service are sufficient to meet the criteria for presumptive service connection.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including degenerative diseases of the cervical and lumbar spine, radiculopathies affecting various extremities, OSA, hepatic steatosis, and supraventricular arrhythmia.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an initial evaluation higher than 10 percent for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine and left leg pain associated with the lumbar spine, as well as a TDIU rating. The VA will obtain retrospective opinions to assess the Veteran's conditions from October 2009 to May 2018, and may refer the claim for an extraschedular TDIU if not granted based on schedular criteria.
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