The Veteran's lumbar spine disability, degenerative arthritis, IVDS with spinal stenosis, was granted service connection effective February 26, 2004.,Left and right lower extremity radiculopathy were also granted service connection effective February 26, 2004.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates are denied as the earliest date of entitlement is February 26, 2004.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine, degenerative arthritis, IVDS, with spinal stenosis, raticulopathy, left lower extremity (sciatic nerve), raticulopathy, right lower extremity (sciatic nerve)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2024
- Citation
- 24000825
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 945 · Granted: 43% (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 24000825.
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 the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities, finding no legal merit in his arguments.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantial gainful employment, leading the Board to grant his claim for total disability rating based on individual unemployability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity (femoral and sciatic nerves) are being remanded due to a lack of a VA examination and outstanding medical records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for additional evidence, including Social Security Administration (SSA) records and updated VA and non-VA medical records.
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