Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2003

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current disability related to any of the claimed conditions, and therefore service connection cannot be established.

The Board has determined that the veteran's lumbar disc disease with sciatica is service-connected and his right ankle injury warrants a 20 percent rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his right leg gunshot wound, sciatic neuritis, and anxiety disorder, likely caused or exacerbated his heart problems resulting in his death. Therefore, the appeal for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is granted.

The Board found no additional disability of the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine as a result of VA medical treatment on March 27, 1995. The veteran's current conditions are deemed to be due to pre-existing injuries.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's lumbar radiculopathy, with an asymmetric disc bulge at the L4-L5 level with associated bilateral neuroforaminal stenosis. The condition is considered to have been incurred in active military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and thus grants a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has ordered the case back to the RO for further development of the record, including obtaining any additional medical records and conducting a VA examination to determine the extent of the appellant's cervical spine disability.

The veteran's service-connected low back disorder does not render him unable to obtain and retain substantially gainful employment, as his disability is rated at 40 percent disabling.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations and a higher rate of special monthly compensation, finding that his service-connected conditions do not warrant such increases.

The veteran's sciatic neural axonal damage on the right side is found to be a result of VA treatment on December 23, 1998 and not due to willful misconduct. The Board finds that this event was not reasonably foreseeable.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative joint disease of L-5 and cervical radiculopathy with carpal tunnel syndrome, finding that she did not file a timely substantive appeal.

The veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability has been rated based on the criteria for degenerative disc disease and related radiculopathy. The appeals for higher ratings have not met the established criteria under the current rating schedule.

The Board denied the claim for an effective date earlier than April 1, 1998 for the grant of a TDIU based on clear and unmistakable error in the November 1995 RO rating decision that granted a 60 percent rating for herniated nucleus pulposus L5-S1 with right radiculopathy.

The veteran's service-connected conditions do not render him unable to obtain and retain substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection of taxis neuralgia of the right sciatic nerve. The examiner concluded that the veteran’s current back condition is not related to military service based on the available records.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions are not related to her service and have denied all of her claims.

The veteran's low back disorder is rated at 20 percent based on moderate intervertebral disc syndrome with recurring attacks, but no more. The claim for a higher evaluation is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities, finding that the combined rating of 60% did not meet the criteria for a TDIU as there was no evidence showing he was unemployable due to his service-connected conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to September 29, 1997, for a grant of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with bilateral leg radiculopathy.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment, and the Board has granted a TDIU rating.