The Veteran's claims for service connection for ankylosing spondylitis and spinal stenosis are denied as the earliest possible effective date is April 14, 2015.,Claims for earlier effective dates for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (femoral nerve) and sciatic nerve, left lower extremity (femoral nerve) and sciatic nerve are also denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims were not filed prior to April 14, 2015 for service connection of ankylosing spondylitis and spinal stenosis. The earliest effective date is therefore April 14, 2015.,Claims for earlier effective dates for radiculopathy are denied as the Veteran did not file prior claims before April 14, 2015.
- Claimed conditions
- ankylosing spondylitis, spinal stenosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2020
- Citation
- A20015954
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 105 · Granted: 19% (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 A20015954.
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 service connection claims for degenerative disc disease, intervertebral disc syndrome, spinal stenosis, and bilateral lower extremity sciatica have been granted as they are related to his active duty service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability, diagnosed as lumbar strain, spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, is causally related to service. As such, service connection for this condition is granted.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's degenerative arthritis with intervertebral disc syndrome to include spinal stenosis and lumbar scoliosis, right knee total arthroplasty, and left knee strain are all granted service connection as directly related to his military service.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine, including retrolisthesis of L3 over L4 and ankylosing spondylitis (claimed as low back condition) has been dismissed due to withdrawal by the appellant.
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