The Board granted a 40 percent rating for lumbar strain and service connection for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, but denied higher ratings for depressive disorder and earlier effective dates for TDIU and DEA.
The deciding factor: The evidence was at least in relative equipoise to support the grant of service connection for the radiculopathies as secondary to the lumbar strain, while the Veteran's symptoms did not more nearly approximate a 50 percent rating for depressive disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified depressive disorder, lumbar strain, left lower extremity radiculopathy (secondary to lumbar strain), right lower extremity radiculopathy (secondary to lumbar strain)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- March 25, 2025
- Citation
- A25027322
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 Board granted a 70 percent rating for the Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder, finding that her symptoms more closely approximated those required for such a rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include major depressive disorder, mood disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, variously diagnosed as unspecified depressive disorder and major depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of February 7, 2020, for the award of a 70 percent rating for unspecified depressive disorder and TDIU, but denied earlier effective dates for other conditions.
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