The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD) alone rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation from August 19, 2019.
The deciding factor: The severity of the symptoms associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine DDD significantly interfered with his ability to perform any type of substantially gainful employment consistent with his limited education and primary physical occupational experience.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25046410
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 A25046410.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and restored the 40 percent disability rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), while denying a higher rating for migraine headaches and remanding the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for increased ratings for left and right knee DJD based on instability, as well as lumbar spine DDD, due to insufficient evidence of moderate or severe instability.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted initial ratings of 40 percent for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, and 20 percent each for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve. An effective date of January 19, 2013, was also granted for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.
- Granted
The Veteran's combination of service-connected disabilities, including major depressive disorder with PTSD, obstructive sleep apnea, irritable bowel syndrome, and multiple orthopedic conditions, prevents him from securing or following substantially gainful employment. Effective January 23, 2019, he is granted a TDIU rating.
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