The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a lumbar spine disability and radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that these conditions are not related to active service or his service-connected bilateral thigh disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence in the Veteran’s STRs of arthritis or radiculopathy of the lower extremities while on active duty. The examiner also noted that the Veteran did not report any low back condition or radiculopathy symptoms at separation, and indicated that his reports of onset of back pain were unreliable.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, rheumatoid arthritis (claimed as radiculopathy)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19168275
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 19168275.
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 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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