Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2017

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including rescheduling a VA examination and obtaining a retrospective medical opinion.

The Board found that the appellant's current neck disorder is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to a disease or injury incurred during his period of ACDUTRA in June 1984, and thus denied service connection for residuals of a neck injury.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including VA examinations to assess the severity of her service-connected disabilities and determine if she has a current diagnosed bilateral hearing loss disability.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected degenerative disc disease and spondylosis of the thoracolumbar spine, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity were denied. The Veteran was not granted any new disability rating.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining updated treatment records and a supplemental medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's low back disability. The issues of service connection for degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine and sciatic nerve disability, left side are deferred until the low back disability issue is addressed.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for earlier effective date and increased rating for right leg sciatic sensory neuropathy with right ankle motor weakness, as well as service connection for bilateral hip and knee disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected peripheral neuropathy of the left and right lower extremities, sciatic nerve, is currently rated at 40 percent each. The Board finds that a higher rating is warranted for these conditions.

The Board finds that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities are severe enough to warrant Category I status for self-employment, but the evidence does not show that all traditional employment goals other than self-employment are unsuitable due to his disabilities. Therefore, the appeal is denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prior to September 25, 2012 prevented him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and other conditions do not meet the criteria for a TDIU due to his overall disability picture, which includes multiple service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain additional medical records and ensure all relevant documents are associated with his electronic claims file.

The Board has remanded the claims due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran and additional VA treatment records. The case will be returned to the RO for further consideration.

The Board finds that the Veteran's multilevel thoracolumbar spondylosis with sciatica, right hip degenerative joint disease with sacroiliitis, and left hip degenerative joint disease are all service-connected based on their direct relationship to her active military service.,However, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether these conditions were caused or aggravated by her service-connected bilateral knee disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings have been denied. The effective date for the grant of service connection for sleep apnea is February 15, 2011, as this was the earliest possible date based on receipt of a formal claim. For the painful scar, head injury, an effective date prior to January 30, 2014, cannot be assigned because there is no evidence of a painful or unstable scar within one year prior to that date. The Veteran's PTSD and radiculopathy claims are also denied as they do not meet the criteria for earlier effective dates.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his lumbar spine disability and his TDIU claim are both remanded due to the need for additional development, including a new VA examination.

The Board granted a 40 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability, effective March 15, 2010. The Veteran was also awarded separate ratings of 10 percent for his left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran's cervical strain with mild degenerative changes at C4-5 and C5-6, lumbar strain, right shoulder disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy have been rated as 20 percent for the period prior to May 20, 2014. Effective May 20, 2014, a 20 percent rating has been assigned for cervical strain with mild degenerative changes at C4-5 and C5-6.

The Veteran does not have a current right hand disability other than carpal tunnel syndrome and cervical radiculopathy, which are already service-connected. The Board finds the preponderance of evidence against a finding of a separate right hand disability.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to the need for a VA medical opinion regarding the Veteran's hip and leg disabilities, as well as obtaining Social Security Administration records.