The Board has restored service connection for Other Specified Trauma and Stress-Related Disorder (OSTSRD) effective February 2, 2016. The issues of service connection for right shoulder disability, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, right upper extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy are remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's PTSD was initially granted based on new evidence that established a link to service. The current appeal is about reopening the claim for other specified trauma and stress-related disorder (OSTSRD).
- Claimed conditions
- Other specified trauma and stress-related disorder (OSTSRD), Right shoulder disability, Cervical spine disability, Lumbar spine disability, Right upper extremity radiculopathy, Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Right lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20080273
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,797 · Granted: 20% (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 20080273.
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 has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability is rated at 20 percent, the maximum rating available under the General Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine. The evidence does not support a higher rating as his range of motion did not meet the criteria for an increased rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for brain cancer, low back disability, and cervical spine disability due to a pre-decisional error in failing to obtain a radiation dose estimate from the Under Secretary for Health. The Veteran's military service aboard USS ENTERPRISE is considered relevant to his exposure to ionizing radiation.
- Denied
The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy was evaluated at a 20 percent rating, and the Board found that it did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.
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