The Board granted an effective date of July 10, 1994 for service connection for degenerative joint disease, lumbosacral spine with bilateral neuroforaminal stenosis and radiculopathy in the right and left lower extremities.
The deciding factor: The relevant record was only associated with the claims file in November 2017 but should have been of record as of April 1995, when the claim was first received. Resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the awards of service connection are based on a relevant official service department record that existed as of the November 1995 denial and could have been obtained prior to that decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease, lumbosacral spine with bilateral neuroforaminal stenosis (claimed as back injury), Radiculopathy, right lower extremity (also claimed as problems walking), Radiculopathy, left lower extremity (also claimed as problems walking)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2024
- Citation
- 24002352
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to specially adapted housing for a VA examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine, spinal fusion, and spondylolisthesis and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed as a timely substantive appeal to the October 2017 rating decision was not received.
- Denied
The appeal for a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease, and spinal fusion of the lumbar spine was denied as the Veteran failed to attend a necessary VA examination without good cause shown.
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