The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an effective date prior to August 23, 2018, for the grant of service connection for intervertebral disc syndrome with spinal stenosis status post T8-T9 decompression with T7-T10 fusion for thoracic myelopathy and left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The effective date of an award based on an original claim shall be the day following separation from service if the claim is received within one year after separation from service; otherwise, the effective date for the grant of service connection will be the date of receipt of the claim or petition to reopen, or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later.
- Claimed conditions
- intervertebral disc syndrome with spinal stenosis status post T8-T9 decompression with T7-T10 fusion for thoracic myelopathy, left and right lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20006551
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,861 · Granted: 27% (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 20006551.
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: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions did not cause or contribute to his death due to a vehicular accident, which was primarily caused by the driver's negligence and poor visibility conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are severe enough to require the aid and attendance of another, effective April 3, 2020. The appeal for SMC based on housebound status is dismissed as moot due to the award of SMC under section 1114(l).
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered her unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful employment for the periods on appeal prior to May 2, 2020, and after June 1, 2020. For the period from March 2, 2020, to June 1, 2020, she was in receipt of a 100 percent schedular rating for total left wrist fusion.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the service connection for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, so the appeal is dismissed.
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