The Board found that an effective date earlier than August 14, 2006, is not warranted for the awards of service connection for low back and left leg disorders. The Veteran's claims for increased rating for low back disorder prior to March 9, 2012, and in excess of 20 percent therefrom were granted with a 20% rating. However, the claim for TDIU was partially granted due to the lack of a Notice of Disagreement or Substantive Appeal.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran did not express an intent to reopen his claims prior to August 14, 2006, and thus, no earlier effective date is warranted. The increased rating for low back disorder was granted based on the criteria set forth in DCs 5299-5242.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disorder, Left leg disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- March 30, 2018
- Citation
- 1819045
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 1819045.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, bilateral knee disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder, finding that the evidence did not show an in-service onset or relationship to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to duty to assist errors prior to the rating decision on appeal. The Veteran is not prejudiced as a remand is necessary to correct these errors.
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