The Board granted an earlier effective date of December 3, 2012, for the grant of service connection for right upper extremity radiculopathy but denied an earlier effective date for left upper extremity radiculopathy. The Board also denied increased ratings for lumbar spine disability and certain lower and upper extremity radiculopathies.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the earliest evidence of symptoms related to each condition, with the exception of right upper extremity radiculopathy which had a specific examination date in 2012.
- Claimed conditions
- Radiculopathy of the right upper extremity, Radiculopathy of the left upper extremity, Lumbar spine disability (sciatic and femoral nerve radiculopathy)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2025
- Citation
- 25003840
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 899 · Granted: 45% (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 25003840.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability and radiculopathy of both upper extremities have been granted increased ratings, with the left upper extremity receiving a higher rating due to more severe symptoms.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical strain is currently rated at 10 percent, but the evidence does not support a higher rating.,There is no current diagnosis of radiculopathy of the left upper extremity. The Veteran's service-connected cervical strain did not result in this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disorder and radiculopathy of the right upper extremity were denied due to lack of new and material evidence.,The effective date for the grant of service connection for these conditions was not earlier than April 22, 2016.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for a Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) prior to February 11, 2021 are dismissed as the issues remain pending in the Legacy system.
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