The Board granted an earlier effective date of April 6, 2014, for the award of a separate, increased 20 percent disability rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's LUE cervical radiculopathy disability increased in the one-year period prior to the filing of his April 6, 2015 VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Compensation, and reasonable doubt was resolved in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Left upper extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- May 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25042209
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 Board denied an initial compensable rating for a residual scar from cervical fusion on the basis of disfigurement and granted an initial 10 percent rating based on pain. The Board also denied initial ratings in excess of 20 percent for intervertebral disc syndrome of the cervical spine with spinal fusion and stenosis, as well as right and left upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the severity of the Veteran's disabilities from May 7, 2013, to August 5, 2019.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims for other specified depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, somatic symptom disorder, alcohol use disorder, left hip condition, left knee condition, left lower extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right hip condition, right knee condition, right lower extremity radiculopathy, right upper extremity radiculopathy, shin splints, left leg, shin splints, right leg, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left ankle disorder and assigned initial ratings of 40 percent, but no higher, for right upper extremity radiculopathy and 30 percent, but no higher, for left upper extremity radiculopathy.
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