Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2013

The Board has determined that the Veteran's neurologic disabilities of the left upper extremity and lower extremities are caused by his service-connected cervical spine and lumbar spine disabilities, respectively. As a result, these claims have been granted.

The Board has granted service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability due to aggravation during active duty, and also found that the Veteran's right leg radiculopathy is related to his service-connected thoracolumbar spine disability. The claim of right leg radiculopathy remains pending.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to inadequate examination and missing medical records.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected lumbar spine and bilateral lower extremity disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for GERD, increased ratings for cervical and lumbar spine disabilities, and secondary service connection for radiculopathy are being remanded due to the submission of new evidence. The VA will need to address these issues on their merits.

The Board has ordered additional development to obtain medical records and provide the Veteran with a VA examination for his claimed disabilities. The appeal is currently remanded.

The Veteran's depressive disorder is related to his service-connected lumbosacral myositis, and the Board finds that he has PTSD due to a stressor from an in-service accident. The right leg lumbar radiculopathy is not shown to be caused or aggravated by the service-connected lumbosacral myositis.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected low back disability and whether he has left and right lower extremity radiculopathy related to his service-connected low back disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected lower back disability and associated neurological involvement.

The Veteran was granted service connection for bilateral glaucoma in both eyes.,Service connection was also established for right lower extremity radiculopathy, which is considered secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine disability. However, the claim for left lower extremity radiculopathy and a bilateral pelvic and leg disability (claimed as numbness of the lower extremities) secondary to a service-connected lumbar spine disability was denied.,The Board found that there was no separate additional disability relating to the pelvis or lower extremities beyond the currently service connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected intervertebral disc extrusion with radiculopathy of L4-L5 and L5-S1 was initially rated at 10 percent prior to February 16, 2011. After the Board remand in September 2012, a rating of 40 percent effective February 16, 2011 was granted.

The Board is remanding the case to obtain a VA examination and additional medical records, as well as to determine whether the Veteran's lumbar spine disorder with associated bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy pre-existed service or was aggravated by military service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to lack of compliance with a previous remand directive. The Veteran is requested to provide information on his 2006 back surgery and any other relevant medical records.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left side pain due to a lightning strike, sleep disorder secondary to PTSD, and increased ratings for lumbosacral strain and cervical strain. The Veteran was also not granted TDIU.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for right and left leg radiculopathies, chronic blood disability, cervical spine disability, thoracic spine disability, and lumbar spine disability. The Veteran's current disabilities are found to be due to his service-connected lumbar spine disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied, and the appeal was dismissed due to withdrawal of his appeals by June 2011. The claim for bilateral hearing loss was previously denied in a final rating decision issued in May 1991.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for low back disability and granted it, finding that new evidence supports a nexus between the Veteran's in-service injury and his current condition.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have an upper extremity neurological disorder, to include peripheral neuropathy, left cervical radiculopathy, and left ulnar neuropathy, that is attributable to active duty service or was caused or made worse by a service-connected disability.

The VA determined that the Veteran's low back disability did not manifest during service and is not related to his in-service injury, thus denying his claim for service connection.

The Board finds that the Veteran's low back disorder, including lumbar degenerative disc disease with bilateral lower extremity polyradiculopathy (L5,S1), and lumbar spinal stenosis with radiculopathy, was not incurred in or aggravated by service or any period of ACDUTRA or INACDUTRA. The Board concludes that the Veteran's current low back condition is more likely related to his post-service work-related injuries.