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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (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 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 Veteran's anxiety and depressive disorders were rated at a 70 percent disability rating effective May 6, 2015.,Effective May 6, 2015, the Veteran was granted an earlier effective date for DEA benefits.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current unspecified depressive disorder is related to his service-connected disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder with insomnia disorder is rated at 30 percent, and the Board has determined that this rating is not sufficient to reflect his disability picture.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for unspecified depressive disorder is granted, while the claim for PTSD remains denied due to lack of credible supporting evidence and in-service stressor confirmation.
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