The Veteran is granted an initial 30 percent rating for adjustment disorder with depressed mood, effective October 20, 2014.,Effective November 9, 2012, the Veteran's entitlement to separate ratings for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy was denied as these conditions manifested more than one year prior to that date.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran’s adjustment disorder with depressed mood has resulted in occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform tasks, warranting a 30 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 9440.,The radiculopathy conditions manifested prior to November 9, 2012, making it ineligible for earlier effective dates as they occurred more than one year before the date of claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Lumbar spine disability (herniated nucleus pulposus, L5-S1), Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Left lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- January 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19104909
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an effective date of July 31, 2012, for TDIU and October 22, 2012, for service connection of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.