The Board granted a rating of 40 percent for lumbar degenerative disc disease and 30 percent for degenerative cervical spondylosis, effective March 6, 2016. The claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU was denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's employment was not substantially gainful prior to August 1, 2018, as he continued working despite his service-connected disabilities and did not meet the economic or noneconomic components of unemployability.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative cervical spondylosis, Lumbar degenerative disc disease with disc bulges, facet arthrosis, epidural lipomatosis, central canal narrowing, and bilateral neural foraminal narrowing (lumbar degenerative disc disease)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25108470
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 696 · Granted: 63% (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 A25108470.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for cervical spondylosis was denied, with the Board finding that his forward flexion of the cervical spine did not meet the criteria for an increased rating.,The Veteran's PTSD claim is remanded due to insufficient evidence addressing all potential stressors and other acquired psychiatric disorders.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him in need of regular aid and attendance of another person, necessitating the grant of SMC at the aid and attendance rate.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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