The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date prior to September 15, 2010 for lumbar spine disability and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity was denied.,PTSD with alcohol abuse has been granted with a 70% rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's PTSD symptoms have resulted in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, including work and social relationships.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, rheumatoid arthritis (assumed from context, as it's not explicitly mentioned), radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, PTSD
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- October 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20065118
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,913 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20065118.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board of Veterans' Appeals has granted service connection for PTSD and Mood Disorders, both presumed conditions under the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD was granted with an initial evaluation of 50 percent, effective September 24, 2007. The appeal regarding the heart condition and sleep disorder is denied. The Veteran's hearing loss prior to August 24, 2015, warrants a 20 percent rating.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
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