The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to May 12, 2014 for service connection of radiculopathy (sciatic nerve) in his right lower extremity as secondary to his service-connected herniated nucleus pulposus L5-S1 with intervertebral disc syndrome. The Board found that the earliest possible effective date was May 12, 2014, which is when the Veteran submitted a formal claim for this condition.
The deciding factor: The first medical evidence of radiculopathy in the right lower extremity arose in April 2014 and could serve as the date at which entitlement arose. However, the effective date cannot be earlier than the date of receipt of the Veteran's claim, which is May 12, 2014.
- Claimed conditions
- radiculopathy, right lower extremity (sciatic nerve)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19159354
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 19159354.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected radiculopathy, left and right lower extremities, are being remanded due to a duty to assist error in the March 2021 VA examination.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the restoration of a 20 percent rating for radiculopathy in both lower extremities and an initial 20 percent rating for left ankle degenerative arthritis, while denying a compensable rating for right hallux valgus.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for radiculopathy in the right and left lower extremities, a compensable rating for a scar from left knee surgery, and earlier effective dates for service connection of various conditions. However, it granted a 30 percent rating for left femoral nerve radiculopathy starting June 16, 2021, and an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve) from November 7, 2018.
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