The Veteran's initial rating for his back disability was denied, with a current rating of 40 percent effective September 23, 2014. The Veteran's left lower extremity radiculopathy is rated at 20 percent prior to September 23, 2014 and 40 percent thereafter.,The Veteran was denied TDIU due to lack of disagreement with the effective date assigned.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's back disability did not meet criteria for a higher rating as his flexion limitation was at worst 60 degrees prior to September 23, 2014 and 5 degrees thereafter. The left lower extremity radiculopathy met the criteria for a moderate rating beginning September 23, 2014.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Left lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19145119
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (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 19145119.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for a back disability due to incomplete service records and failure to consider all available evidence, including in-service treatment records from F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
- Granted
The Veteran's rating for residuals status post lumbar fusion was reduced from 40 percent to 20 percent effective October 25, 2023. The reduction was granted as there was no evidence of actual improvement in the Veteran's condition prior to this date.
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