The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities, finding no current disability or diagnosis.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder (PTSD) is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding his claimed PTSD diagnosis.
The deciding factor: There is no objective evidence supporting a diagnosis of radiculopathy in the lower extremities, and the Veteran has not provided sufficient credible supporting evidence that he experienced an in-service stressor related to combat or fear of hostile military activity.,The medical records do not provide clear evidence regarding whether the Veteran meets the criteria for PTSD as per DSM-5. The Veteran's symptoms align with diagnoses such as psychosis.
- Claimed conditions
- Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 22, 2021
- Citation
- 21024375
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 21024375.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied extraschedular ratings for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 3, 2011.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability is rated at 20 percent, but the Board finds that it warrants a rating of 40 percent throughout the appeal period.,Service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral spine disability is granted. The Veteran's claim for an initial rating will be remanded for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities cause the need for regular aid and attendance of another person, which is granted based on the evidence provided.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's radiculopathy of the right lower extremity is currently rated at 70% effective from February 11, 2010.,Entitlement to an earlier effective date for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity was denied.
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