The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of various disabilities, including right and left ankle degenerative joint disease, elbow degenerative joint disease, shoulder degenerative joint disease, lower extremity radiculopathy, lumbar spine degenerative joint disease, cervical spine degenerative changes, upper extremity radiculopathy, and bilateral calcaneal spurs. The effective dates for these disabilities were set at February 6, 2017.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not file a claim prior to the March 9, 2017 VA Form 21-526EZ, which is before the effective date of February 6, 2017 for these disabilities. There was no intent to file an earlier claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle degenerative joint disease, Left ankle degenerative joint disease, Right elbow degenerative joint disease, Left elbow degenerative joint disease, Right shoulder degenerative joint disease, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Lumbar spine degenerative joint disease, Cervical spine degenerative changes, Right upper extremity radiculopathy, Left upper extremity radiculopathy, Bilateral calcaneal spurs
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2023
- Citation
- A23027397
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 A23027397.
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 effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- 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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the claims for psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.,Service connection was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to a service-connected back disability, but denied for right wrist disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for degenerative disc disease prior to August 1, 2025 was denied as the evidence did not show unfavorable ankylosis of the thoracolumbar spine.,The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy prior to March 10, 2025 were denied as there is no neurological impairment associated with these conditions.
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