The VA determined that there is no evidence of a lumbar spine disability with radiculopathy during the veteran's military service or within the one-year presumptive period after separation. The Board therefore denied the claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: There was no in-service diagnosis or treatment of the claimed lumbar spine disabilities, and the earliest documented diagnoses were several decades post-service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar intervertebral disk displacement, lumbar degenerative disk disease, right lumbar radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 24, 2008
- Citation
- 0844515
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0844515.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar degenerative disk disease began during service and continues to this day, meeting all criteria for service connection.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for right and left lumbar radiculopathy as the underlying primary low back disability is not an adjudicated service-connected condition.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability was granted, with the Board finding that his current disabilities are related to his in-service diagnoses of sacralization and pseudoarthrosis.
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