The Board denied service connection for lumbar spine, right leg, and left foot disabilities due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found no medical records or credible statements supporting a link between the Veteran’s current back disability and his in-service injury.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, left foot paresis, right thigh sensory radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19189962
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 19189962.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a higher rating in excess of the current ratings for various musculoskeletal conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a compensable evaluation for hypertension and granted an increased rating of 20 percent for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease from April 13, 2022. The effective date for the right lower extremity radiculopathy was also granted as May 10, 2016.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to September 20, 2018, for the award of service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining a retrospective medical opinion regarding the severity of the Veteran's service-connected conditions without the use of pain medication and securing the credentials of the VA examiners.
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