The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates for his service-connected conditions have been denied.,Specifically, the Veteran's claim for a higher rating for degenerative disc disease and disc bulge of the lumbar spine has not met the criteria for such an increase.,His claim for right lower extremity radiculopathy was also denied as it did not meet the required criteria for a higher rating.,The left lower extremity radiculopathy claim was similarly denied, with no higher rating being warranted.,Finally, his claim for vertigo was denied, and an earlier effective date prior to December 26, 2006, was also denied.

The deciding factor: The evidence did not show unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine or incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 6 weeks during the past 12 months for the Veteran's degenerative disc disease and disc bulge, lumbar spine condition.,For his right lower extremity radiculopathy, there were no episodes requiring bed rest in the past twelve months, and he did not have any evidence of guarding or muscle spasms. The examiner found mild incomplete paralysis.,Regarding left lower extremity radiculopathy, while the Veteran had decreased sensations, they were characterized as 'mild.',For his vertigo, there was occasional dizziness but no evidence of gait imbalance related to the condition.

Claimed conditions

Degenerative disc disease and disc bulge, lumbar spine, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Vertigo

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

May 18, 2020

Citation

20034514

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 20034514.