The Veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates were denied as the evidence did not show that he met the regulatory criteria for a higher rating prior to May 30, 2017.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support an earlier effective date before May 30, 2017 when the Veteran was granted service connection and increased ratings for his cervical spine disability and radiculopathy.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, left upper extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), left lower extremity radiculopathy (femoral nerve)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- August 22, 2019
- Citation
- A19000994
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,893 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19000994.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and a pre-decisional duty to assist error. Additional development is needed for service connection of carpal tunnel syndrome, increased ratings for lower extremity radiculopathies, and obtaining a VA TERA opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
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