The Veteran is seeking an effective date earlier than October 6, 2009 for the grant of service connection for lumbar spine disability. The Board finds that this claim is not warranted as the effective date was correctly assigned based on receipt of a reopened claim after final disallowance.,The Veteran is also seeking an effective date earlier than October 6, 2009 for the grant of service connection for radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities. The Board finds that this claim is not warranted as the effective date was correctly assigned based on receipt of a reopened claim after final disallowance.,The Veteran is seeking an increased rating for lumbar spine disability, and TDIU. These claims are remanded for additional development.
The deciding factor: The effective dates for the grants of service connection were determined to be October 6, 2009 based on receipt of a reopened claim after final disallowance.,The Veteran did not submit a separate claim for radiculopathy. Service connection was granted as secondary to lumbar spine disability and the effective date is tied to the underlying condition.,There are no specific reasons provided in the decision, but it appears that the claims are denied due to lack of evidence showing entitlement prior to October 6, 2009.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity (LLE), Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (RLE)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19104571
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,902 · Granted: 11% (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 19104571.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and higher initial rating for his back disability is denied. The effective date remains March 29, 2021, as the earliest date of claim. An initial rating in excess of 20 percent for the back disability from March 29, 2021, is also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability and right leg radiculopathy are granted service connection, but left leg radiculopathy is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU, finding that his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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