The Board has granted an effective date of October 27, 1983 for the award of service connection for right cervical radiculopathy. The veteran's attorney asserts that a letter he wrote to his United States Senator in 1983 should be considered as an informal claim for this benefit.
The deciding factor: The effective date is based on the receipt of an informal claim by the VA, which was received in October 27, 1983. The veteran had C7 radiculopathy documented since June 1978 and his letter to his Senator indicated he believed he should be entitled to disability compensation for pain in his arms and a pinched nerve.
- Claimed conditions
- Right cervical radiculopathy, Degenerative joint disease of the right hip and knee
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2008
- Citation
- 0820972
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 0820972.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the Veteran's right shoulder strain with tendonitis and remanded issues related to service connection for right cervical radiculopathy and recognition of K.W. as a helpless child.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for earlier effective dates and a compensable rating, as there was no evidence of an informal or formal claim prior to September 27, 2022.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional medical opinions are needed to address the etiology of the Veteran's claimed disabilities, particularly regarding secondary service connection. The claims for cervical spine disability and associated radiculopathy, lumbar spine disability, bilateral hip disabilities, and migraine headaches are being remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for medical opinion regarding the onset of right and left cervical spine radiculopathy, as well as its relationship to service connection.
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