The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date prior to February 24, 2020 for increased ratings of 20 percent for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: There was no increase in disability that preceded the February 2020 claim by a year or less, such that there is no basis to find an earlier effective date was factually ascertainable between February 2019 to February 2020.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar radiculopathy, sciatica
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 28, 2020
- Citation
- A20016189
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.
- Dismissed
The Board denied the veteran's appeals for service connection due to untimely filings.
- Dismissed
The Board denied the veteran's attempts to appeal rating decisions that denied service connection for various conditions and reduced his evaluation, as the appeals were not timely filed.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for eligibility for specially adapted housing, a special home adaptation grant, and financial assistance in purchasing an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment. The claim of CUE in the September 14, 2017, rating decision was also denied.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death while it was pending.
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