The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of separate ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that July 12, 2004 is the earliest permissible effective date.
The deciding factor: There are no unadjudicated or pending claims for a back disability or lower extremity radiculopathy prior to July 12, 2004, and the Veteran's claim for an increased rating was not timely perfected after the December 2005 final rating decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Left knee instability, Right knee instability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2024
- Citation
- 24032670
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 20 percent for right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy but remanded the back disability claim for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a separate 10 percent rating for right knee instability but denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative arthritis of the right knee.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an effective date of July 31, 2012, for TDIU and October 22, 2012, for service connection of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The appeal for higher ratings and effective dates for various conditions was denied, with the exception of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy which were granted an earlier effective date.
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