The Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability was reopened, granted, and an effective date of June 21, 2015, is assigned. Service connection for bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy on secondary basis to his cervical spine disability is also granted. An effective date earlier than October 4, 2016, for the assignment of a 20% rating for his cervical spine disability is denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence established that the Veteran's lumbar spine disability was related to an in-service motor vehicle accident and secondary service connection for bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy on secondary basis to his cervical spine disability is granted.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy, tension headaches, cervical spine disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 29, 2018
- Citation
- 18154044
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 18154044.
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 the claims of service connection for cervical spine and skin rash disabilities, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to active military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for asthma and a 10 percent rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities were dismissed. The claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for eczema was denied, while the claim of entitlement to allergic rhinitis was not addressed as it pertained to different issues.
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