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Denied

The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative disc disease with dorsalgia and an effective date earlier than April 19, 2023, for the grant of service connection for degenerative disc disease with dorsalgia.

The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a higher rating as the Veteran's condition was within the criteria for a 10 percent rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The Board also denied an earlier effective date as the claim was properly dated to April 19, 2023.

Claimed conditions
Degenerative Disc Disease with Dorsalgia, Lower Extremity Radiculopathy
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
10%
Decision date
November 6, 2025
Citation
A25096781

Veterans Law Judge

Leetra J. Harris

Decisions by this judge: 878 · Granted: 36% (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 A25096781.

What this means for you

A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.

What you can do next

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