Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2020

The Veteran's attorney has withdrawn the appeal regarding past-due benefits and service connection for bilateral pes planus, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal is dismissed.

The Veteran's right and left sciatic nerve pain is not service-connected, as it is caused by his nonservice-connected degenerative disc disease and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine. The Veteran was employed prior to March 22, 2017, which precludes a TDIU at that time.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims of service connection for left leg disability and colon cancer need further development due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Veteran's appeals for earlier effective dates for service connection for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy have been dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeals in October 2020.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings due to insufficient evidence and need for new examinations.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted due to his service-connected disabilities precluding substantially gainful employment.,Service connection for hearing loss is denied as the Veteran does not have a current disability in accordance with VA compensation criteria.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to June 14, 2011, finding that his service-connected conditions did not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

Service connection is granted for cervical spine condition, right knee condition, and bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy as secondary to service-connected cervical spine condition.,Service connection is denied for left hip strain.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to incomplete compliance with previous directives and need for additional examinations.

The Board has remanded three issues: a higher rating for neck disability, a higher rating for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, and TDIU. The remand requires further development to determine if the Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disorder resulted in prescribed bed rest.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's back condition, bilateral lumbar neuropathy sciatic nerve condition as secondary to his back condition, right hip degenerative joint disease, and left hip degenerative joint disease. The decision is based on medical evidence that supports a finding of in-service injury and current disability related to service.

The Veteran's claim for CRDP payments prior to September 1, 2014 was denied. The Board also found a pre-decisional duty to assist error and ordered the RO to send the Veteran a notification letter regarding an October 2017 audit indicating he was entitled to a retroactive compensation payment of $984.00 for the period from January 2017 to May 2017.

The Board has denied service connection for a right shin disability and left shin disability. The Veteran's claims of in-service injury are not supported by the evidence, which does not contain any indication that he currently suffers from these disabilities.,For his back disability, radiculopathy of upper and lower extremities, and hand disabilities, the Board has remanded the claims as there is insufficient medical evidence to determine if they are related to service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have precluded her from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation, resulting in the grant of TDIU. The noninitial MDD rating claim is remanded for further examination.

The Veteran's PTSD, scar, and radiculopathy conditions are not rated higher than the current assigned ratings. The effective date for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) eligibility is granted.

The Board has granted initial ratings of 20 percent for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy associated with low back strain with degenerative arthritis, status-post hemilaminectomy.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his lower extremity radiculopathy and femoral nerve involvement, as well as the TDIU claim, are being remanded due to incomplete documentation and need for new examinations.

The Board has determined that additional medical examination and review of the evidence are necessary before a final decision can be made on the Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for his service-connected lumbar strain with degenerative joint disease, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity.

The Veteran's initial rating for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, post-fusion decompression L5-S1, with scar is denied. An initial rating of 20 percent, but no higher, for lumbar radiculopathy of the left lower extremity is granted.,Service connection for a neck disorder and TDIU are remanded.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for her right knee disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not show flexion limited to 60 degrees or extension limited to 5 degrees, which would warrant a separate noncompensable rating under Diagnostic Codes 5260 and 5261. The Veteran's current limitation of flexion is at worst to 90 degrees with pain, but this does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 5260. Extension has been consistently full (zero degrees), so she cannot be rated under Diagnostic Code 5261 either.