The Board granted an effective earlier date of September 10, 2013 for the initial 40 percent rating for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and a 30 percent rating for right knee medial meniscus tear with meniscectomy and degenerative arthritis.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine is manifested by severe painful motion with forward flexion approximating 30 degrees or less since the initial claim, and his right knee disability meets the criteria for a 30 percent rating based on extension to 20 degrees.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Right knee medial meniscus tear with meniscectomy and degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- April 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25032052
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,164 · Granted: 31% (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 A25032052.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability, diagnosed as degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, is related to service and granted service connection for this condition.
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