The Veteran was granted a 40 percent rating for his lumbosacral strain effective July 8, 2015, and the claim for an earlier effective date for total disability based on individual unemployability was denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's forward flexion ROM was worsened to 30 degrees the day immediately after the July 7, 2015, VA examination, warranting a 40 percent rating. An earlier effective date for TDIU was not supported by the evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- March 11, 2025
- Citation
- 25003449
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 719 · Granted: 54% (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 25003449.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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 remanded the issues of service connection for headaches, painful surgical scar, left chest, hypertension, left elbow degenerative joint disease, and lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome due to incomplete VA treatment records.,No effective date earlier than specified dates was granted as there is no probative evidence showing the conditions had their onset during service or are otherwise related to service.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for entitlement to a rating more than 40 percent disabling for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome, and for a rating more than 20 percent disabling for right lower extremity radicopathy, sciatic.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a stomach disorder (claimed as reoccurring vomiting) and right ankle disability, but denied service connection for cervical spine disability, lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome, hemorrhoids, PTSD, and a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbosacral strain and degenerative arthritis.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 40 percent prior to February 22, 2021, and in excess of 20 percent after February 22, 2021, for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome.
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