The Board has granted service connection for various conditions and assigned ratings effective February 12, 2014. The appellant is eligible for direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in the April 2020 rating decision.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's appointment of the appellant as his attorney was valid, and a direct-pay fee agreement was executed between them. The AOJ acknowledged this and granted the appellant's request for direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in the April 2020 rating decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbosacral strain, Right knee osteoarthritis (limitation of flexion), Right shoulder strain, Left knee instability, Left knee osteoarthritis (limitation of flexion), Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Left hand sprain with index finger involvement, Left hand sprain with long finger involvement, Left hand sprain with thumb involvement, Right hand sprain with index finger involvement, Right hand sprain with long finger involvement, Right hand sprain with thumb involvement, Right knee instability, Hypertension, Left hand sprain with little finger involvement, Left hand sprain with ring finger involvement, Left knee osteoarthritis (limitation of extension), Right knee osteoarthritis (limitation of extension)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- November 12, 2024
- Citation
- A24073682
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A24073682.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
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