The Veteran's back disability and left lower extremity radiculopathy are granted with effective dates of January 30, 2020.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran's symptoms most closely approximated the criteria for a 20% rating under Diagnostic Codes 5242 (for back disabilities) and 8520 (for left lower extremity radiculopathy) as of January 30, 2020.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Left lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 2, 2026
- Citation
- A26030573
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 A26030573.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of July 10, 2024 for service connection for PTSD, lumbar strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for a back disability due to incomplete service records and failure to consider all available evidence, including in-service treatment records from F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
- Granted
The Veteran's rating for residuals status post lumbar fusion was reduced from 40 percent to 20 percent effective October 25, 2023. The reduction was granted as there was no evidence of actual improvement in the Veteran's condition prior to this date.
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