The Board granted service connection for residuals of a back injury of the lumbar spine and bilateral radiculopathy, and awarded a total disability rating based on individual unemployability as of May 9, 2019.
The deciding factor: The Veteran is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and the Board finds that the residuals of a back injury of the lumbar spine began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease, to include wear and tear related to the Veteran's MOS as a medical specialist. The Veteran has also been diagnosed with bilateral radiculopathy as secondary to a service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of a back injury of the lumbar spine (also claimed as lumbar radiculopathy, sacroilitis, and lumbar spondylosis), Bilateral radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- June 4, 2025
- Citation
- 25007501
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · Granted: 23% (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 25007501.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for additional evidentiary development to properly assess the severity of the Veteran's back disability, including a retrospective opinion on range of motion findings prior to April 5, 2022.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and bilateral radiculopathy, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. As his combined rating is at least 70%, TDIU has been granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits prior to September 6, 2013 was denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not have any pending appeals or awards of service connection prior to this date.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected back disability and bilateral radiculopathy disabilities prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment for the period prior to April 16, 2013.
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