The Board has determined that the original grants of service connection for lumbar spine DDD and associated right lower extremity radiculopathy were incorrect due to CUE, and thus severed from service. The restoration of these benefits is denied.
The deciding factor: The August 2013 VA examiner's opinion was considered inadequate as it did not address the potential impact of the 2001 surgery on the Veteran’s current disability.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), right lower radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2020
- Citation
- 20043447
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 20043447.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right upper radiculopathy and left upper radiculopathy, but denied service connection for right lower radiculopathy and left lower radiculopathy as secondary to a thoracolumbar spine condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error regarding the service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, including as aggravated by service-connected lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD).
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine disability, including spondylosis, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), facet joint arthritis, and L4-5 disc bulge, is now rated at 40 percent effective June 11, 2019.
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