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 set at October 6, 2009 when VA received the Veteran's reopened claim.,The Veteran also seeks 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 set at October 6, 2009 when VA received the reopened claim.,The Veteran seeks a higher disability evaluation for his lumbar spine disability with bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy. The Board has remanded these issues to allow for further development including a VA examination and consideration of extraschedular considerations.
The deciding factor: The effective dates for the grants of service connection were set at October 6, 2009 when VA received the Veteran's reopened claims.
- 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
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment, thus granting a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death while it was pending.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, finding a positive nexus to the Veteran's active duty service.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal of proposed rating reductions for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and radiculopathy, left lower extremity, due to procedural defects in the Veteran's notice of disagreement. The issue regarding a compensable rating for migraine headaches was remanded.
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