Citation Nr: 21030606 Decision Date: 05/19/21 Archive Date: 05/19/21 DOCKET NO. 13-35 286 DATE: May 19, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for lumbar sensory-motor left lower extremity radiculopathy is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's lumbar sensory-motor left lower extremity radiculopathy is related to his time in active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for lumbar sensory-motor left lower extremity radiculopathy have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from May 1979 until May 1982, and had subsequent National Guard service. The Veteran appeals a May 2011 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) denying service connection for left lumbar sensory-motor radiculopathy. In a September 2017 decision, the Board denied the claim. The Veteran appealed that denial to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In December 2018, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) filed by representatives for both parties and remanded the claim to the Board for further proceedings consistent with the JMR. The Board remanded the matter in July 2019 and October 2020 for additional development. The case has returned to the Board for further appellate proceedings. This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 20.902(c). Service Connection A Veteran is entitled to VA disability compensation if there is a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131. Generally, to establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a Veteran must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service, the so-called "nexus" requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The Veteran contends his lumbar sensory-motor left lower extremity radiculopathy is related to service as a paratrooper. See March 2011 VA Form 21-4138. The Veteran has a diagnosis of lumbar sensory-motor left lower extremity radiculopathy, satisfying the first Shedden element. Additionally, the Veteran's DD Form 214 reflects he was awarded the Parachutist Badge, and a December 1981 service treatment record indicates treatment for a back problem. Thus, the second Shedden element is met. With respect to a nexus between the Veteran's current disability and his military service, there are conflicting opinions of record. In a December 2016 opinion, a VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's lumbar sensory-motor left lower extremity radiculopathy was not related to service because his service treatment records contained no record of radiculopathy, and attributed the disability to a back injury the Veteran sustained in February 2000. Another VA examiner reached the same conclusion in a November 2019 opinion. However, in a March 2021 opinion, another VA examiner stated that it was clear from the Veteran's military duties and medical literature that his non-service connected lumbar spine condition had its origins in service during his time as a paratrooper and resulted in the Veteran's current radiculopathy. Based on these facts, the examiner concluded that the Veteran's lumbar sensory-motor left lower extremity radiculopathy was incurrent in or caused by his military duties in service. As the evidence for and the evidence against the Veteran's claim is in relative equipoise, the Board affords the Veteran the benefit of the doubt and finds there is expert evidence of record establishing a link between the Veteran's lumbar sensory-motor left lower extremity radiculopathy and his time on active duty. Accordingly, the Board grants service connection for lumbar sensory-motor left lower extremity radiculopathy. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Pelican, Luke H. The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.