The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied. The cervical spine disability was rated at 20%, the right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy at 20%, and the left arm radiculopathy at 20%. A TDIU effective from October 11, 2011, was granted.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not find any evidence of severe or complete paralysis in either upper extremity, which precluded higher ratings under DCs for incomplete and complete paralysis.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the cervical spine with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), Right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, Left arm radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19180735
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19180735.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's GERD, neck disability, right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy have been granted service connection with effective dates of September 27, 2023.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, as well as right and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, were restored to their previous levels of 70%, 60%, 30%, and 30% respectively, effective from February 12, 2025.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right lower extremity and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected low back syndrome with degenerative disc disease L4-5. Service connection was denied for right upper extremity and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's right upper and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy have been granted service connection based on direct evidence, with the condition attributed to in-service herbicide exposure.
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