The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 3, 2021, but no earlier, for the assignment of a 20 percent disability rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy is granted. The claim for an effective date prior to July 26, 2022, for service connection of right lower extremity radiculopathy is denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports that the Veteran's symptoms worsened on August 3, 2021, which is the earliest date as of which it is ascertainable that an increase in disability had occurred within a year of the July 26, 2022, VA 21-526EZ claim for an increased rating.
- Claimed conditions
- left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25110150
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 878 · Granted: 46% (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 A25110150.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy and denied the claims for right knee disability, erectile dysfunction, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension. The decision is remanded for further action on these issues.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for middle and index trigger finger/stenosing tenosynovitis of the right hand, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The earliest effective date is June 30, 2012, for the right hand condition and April 22, 2016, for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.
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