The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for her 40 percent rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease is denied.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for her 20 percent rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy of the femoral nerve is denied.,Service connection for a cervical spine disability remains pending and requires additional development.
The deciding factor: The effective date for the 40 percent rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease cannot be assigned prior to receipt of her claim, as she was already in receipt of a maximum 100 percent rating on October 5, 2018.,The effective date for the 20 percent rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy of the femoral nerve is not earlier than October 28, 2019, as it was established during a VA examination at that time.,Service connection for a cervical spine disability remains pending and requires additional development.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), cervical spine disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2024
- Citation
- 24008297
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 24008297.
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 claims of service connection for cervical spine and skin rash disabilities, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to active military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disabilities due to a predecisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's past medical history needs to be considered in the new examination.
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