The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for major depressive disorder was denied as there is no indication of an earlier claim.,Claims for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy were reasonably raised in conjunction with a claim for increased rating for the service-connected low back disability, but the RO implicitly denied these claims by granting a 20% rating effective June 26, 2012.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's original claim for major depressive disorder was received on September 7, 2012, and there is no indication of an earlier claim. The RO implicitly denied the claims for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy by granting a 20% rating effective June 26, 2012.
- Claimed conditions
- {"condition_name":"Major depressive disorder"}, {"condition_name":"Right lower extremity radiculopathy"}, {"condition_name":"Left lower extremity radiculopathy"}
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081134
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
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