The Veteran's lumbar spine disability was not shown as chronic in service and did not manifest to a compensable degree within the applicable presumptive period. Continuity of symptomatology is also not established.,There is no evidence that the Veteran has had radiculopathy of the lower left leg at any time during, or approximate to, the pendency of the claim.,The Veteran's cervical spine disability was rated as 10 percent due to forward flexion limited to 30 degrees and combined range of motion not greater than 170 degrees. The examiner noted that repetitive use testing did not show any additional loss of function.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the lumbar spine disability was denied as there was no evidence of a chronic condition in service or within the applicable presumptive period, and continuity of symptomatology is not established.,Service connection for radiculopathy of the lower left leg was denied as there is no current diagnosis of this condition. The Veteran's belief that he has radiculopathy is not credible due to internal inconsistency with his contemporaneous treatment records.,The cervical spine disability was rated 10 percent based on forward flexion limited to 30 degrees and combined range of motion not greater than 170 degrees, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic musculoligamentous strain of the cervical spine, lumbar spine disability, radiculopathy of the lower left leg
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19139423
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (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 19139423.
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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 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.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. Service connection is being remanded for the lumbar spine disability and right knee and calf disabilities.
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