The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy is denied.,The Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to August 29, 2013 for the grant of service connection for degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine and migraine headaches are both denied.,Both back disability and migraine headache claims have been remanded due to inadequate examination reports.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's left lower extremity radiculopathy warrants a rating in excess of 20 percent.,There is no effective date prior to August 29, 2013 for the grant of service connection for degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine and migraine headaches as there was no formal or informal claim received within one year of separation from service.,The VA examination reports are inadequate due to lack of discussion on frequency, duration, characteristics, precipitating and alleviating factors, and severity of flare-ups for the Veteran's back disability. Additionally, the examiner did not consider the Veteran's reports regarding characteristic prostrating attacks for his migraine headaches.
- Claimed conditions
- Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, Migraine headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 2, 2024
- Citation
- A24022875
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 A24022875.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for traumatic brain injury and migraine headaches due to right eye removal are granted. The claim for a compensable evaluation of xeroderma of the right eye is remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased initial disability rating for migraine headaches, finding that the Veteran's symptoms did not meet the criteria for a 50% rating due to lack of very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- 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.
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