The Veteran's back and left ankle disabilities do not meet the criteria for higher ratings, but his service-connected disabilities have prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a rating in excess of the current ratings due to the limited functional impairment shown. However, the Veteran's combined service-connected disabilities prevent him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic sprain of the left ankle, mild degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 5, 2025
- Citation
- 25007565
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · 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 25007565.
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome has been granted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for mild degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine (claimed as chronic back pain) is being remanded to determine if her MOS as an Ammunition Specialist caused her current condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the veteran's claims for higher ratings and TDIU due to inadequate medical examinations. The veteran will undergo new evaluations considering medication effects.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective September 25, 2019 due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment, thus the TDIU claim is denied.
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