The Board denied service connection for neurological disabilities of the right and left upper extremities, as well as initial disability ratings in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities. The Veteran's claims were based on direct service connection.,For residuals of head trauma, manifested as headaches, the Board denied an initial rating in excess of 30 percent.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran’s neurological disabilities were related to his active service or secondary to his service-connected cervical spine disability.,For radiculopathy, the Board found no moderate incomplete paralysis and thus denied ratings in excess of 10 percent prior to December 11, 2017. From December 11, 2017 onwards, the Veteran was granted a rating of 20 percent for each lower extremity radiculopathy condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Neurological disability of the right upper extremity, Neurological disability of the left upper extremity, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Residuals of head trauma, manifested as headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2018
- Citation
- 18114924
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 18114924.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied extraschedular ratings for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 3, 2011.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine was diagnosed during service and has continued since then. The Board granted service connection for this condition based on continuity of symptomatology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate examinations and the need for a retrospective opinion regarding the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
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