The Board granted an initial disability rating of 40 percent for the lumbar spine disability and a 30 percent rating for the right shoulder disability, effective from June 21, 2021. The decision also granted TDIU and special monthly compensation at the housebound rate.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, warranting a TDIU. Additionally, the evidence supported granting higher ratings for both the lumbar spine and right shoulder disabilities based on the degree of limitation of motion and functional loss.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar degenerative arthritis, right shoulder impingement syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- December 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25104562
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,569 · Granted: 26% (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 A25104562.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal due to the Veteran's withdrawal of the appeal prior to a decision being made.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The VA will obtain new opinions from different VA examiners to address whether the Veteran's conditions were incurred or aggravated by his military service, including exposure during combat.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment prior to January 31, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, but has remanded the cases of left knee and lumbar spine disabilities.
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