The Board denied a rating greater than 40 percent for the Veteran's back condition and remanded claims for service connection for peptic ulcer disease, diabetes mellitus, diverticulitis, coronary artery disease, and myocardial infarction.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine, which would have warranted a higher rating. The Board also found that there was insufficient evidence to support service connection for peptic ulcer disease, diabetes mellitus, diverticulitis, coronary artery disease, and myocardial infarction.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain with multilevel mild degenerative disc disease, peptic ulcer disease, diabetes mellitus, type 2 (diabetes), diverticulitis, coronary artery disease (CAD), myocardial infarction (MI)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- April 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25036255
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 749 · Granted: 28% (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 A25036255.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a colon condition, including as caused by herbicide agent exposure or secondary to his service-connected disabilities, was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection on any basis.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection and TDIU are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his coronary artery disease.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus type II (DM II), hypertension, and erectile dysfunction as secondary to service-connected DM II. The Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during active service is presumed.
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