The Board granted restoration of a 20 percent rating for the lumbar spine disability effective September 14, 2020, and denied increased ratings for other conditions.
The deciding factor: The reduction in the evaluation was improper as it did not consider material improvement or stability of the disability under applicable regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis, right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative joint disease, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- May 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25046534
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 Board denied a disability rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus and a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbosacral strain, but granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, lumbosacral strain, and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected conditions. The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for residuals of right ankle fracture and a rating in excess of 60 percent for the service-connected heart condition. The Board also denied a compensable disability rating for residual scar of the anterior trunk mid sternum status post coronary artery bypass graft.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew all pending appeals on April 28, 2025.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the award of service connection and denied increased ratings for various disabilities, but granted a separate rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy from October 20, 2020.
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