The Veteran's claims for service connection and effective dates prior to December 23, 2014 were denied as there was no formal or informal claim filed before that date.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a formal or informal claim being filed by the Veteran prior to December 23, 2014 for service connection or effective dates.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) and degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the lumbar spine with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), Sciatic radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, Sciatic radiculopathy of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2018
- Citation
- 18142552
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 18142552.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine disability, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left foot crush injury, and sciatic radiculopathy of both lower extremities, also secondary to the newly service-connected lumbar spine disability. The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for depressive disorder with unspecified anxiety disorder and a compensable rating for allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for erectile dysfunction, sciatic radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, and disabilities manifested by functional impairment due to right and left knee pain with limited flexion as secondary conditions. The claims for increased ratings were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine and sciatic radiculopathy of the left lower extremity as secondary to a service-connected right knee disability, but denied service connection for a cervical spine disability and sleep apnea.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for intervertebral lumbar disc disease and sciatic radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, as the evidence did not support a higher rating.
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