The Veteran's claim for secondary service connection for lumbar DDD and bilateral sacroiliac osteoarthritis is granted, effective from April 22, 2015. A rating of at least 40 percent for a low back disability is also granted.
The deciding factor: The examiner provided an opinion that the Veteran's lumbar DDD and bilateral sacroiliac osteoarthritis are proximately due to her service-connected lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis, resulting in functional loss of forward flexion limited to 30 degrees or less throughout the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD), bilateral sacroiliac osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- November 6, 2024
- Citation
- 24032730
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 24032730.
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 claim for service connection for tinnitus has been denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between the condition and his military service.,Service connection for a rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar DDD has also been denied due to lack of evidence supporting an increase in disability level.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the issues of effective dates and ratings related to lumbar spine strain, Dupuytren's contracture in the left hand with ankylosis, and Dupuytren's contracture in the right hand with osteoarthritis. The Board dismissed these appeals.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected back disability was denied an increased rating, with a final rating of 40% since May 2, 2018.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for benign prostate hypertrophy is granted. However, the Veteran's increased rating claim for lumbar degenerative disc disease is denied.
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