The Board granted service connection for a back disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy, finding the Veteran's lay testimony credible and that her symptoms were continuous since service.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the Veteran's consistent testimony of experiencing back pain during service and its continuity thereafter, supported by medical evidence showing degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine as a presumptive condition under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a).
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine (back disability), Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Left lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- November 26, 2024
- Citation
- 24033442
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for various disabilities and granted earlier effective dates for service connection of scars, but denied an earlier effective date for individual unemployability.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is granted a 30 percent rating, while the lumbar and lower extremity radiculopathy claims are denied. An earlier effective date for right lower extremity radiculopathy was granted, and TDIU based on single service-connected disability is remanded.
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