Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2023

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy and remanded the claims for bilateral ankle disability.

The Veteran's service-connected thoracolumbar spine disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, meeting the criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Veteran's claim for service connection for TB residuals was denied. The Board found no evidence of active TB or TB related symptomatology during the pendency of the appeal. For TDIU, the Veteran met the criteria under 38 C.F.R. � 4.16(a) as he had two or more disabilities with at least one rated at 40 percent or more and sufficient additional disability to bring the combined rating to at least 70 percent. The Veteran is already in receipt of SMC benefits, thus TDIU was not granted.

The Veteran's cervical degenerative disc disease and associated left upper extremity radiculopathy have been rated at the maximum allowable under VA regulations.,The Veteran's service-connected left upper extremity radiculopathy has also been rated at its maximum allowable under VA regulations.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations to assess his cervical spine disability and associated radiculopathies.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development regarding his diabetes mellitus, type II and peripheral neuropathy claims.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected low back disability. The claims of increased ratings for the low back disability and upper extremity cervicalgia are remanded due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder and left leg radiculopathy, finding no evidence of in-service injury or chronic condition.

The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity radiculopathies have been rated at 20 percent since December 5, 2007. The Board finds that the current ratings are appropriate for the period on appeal.

The Board has granted service connection for Degenerative disk disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine and left lower extremity radiculopathy.,Both conditions are found to be related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board has remanded several claims, including those for increased evaluations and service connection. The Veteran's TDIU claim is also remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (depression), degenerative disc disease and arthritis, status post C4-C5 laminoplasty, degenerative disc disease and arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, and cervical radiculopathy, upper radicular nerve group, left upper extremity. The latter condition is also granted as secondary to service-connected degenerative disc disease and arthritis, status post C4-C5 laminoplasty.

The Veteran's claim for higher ratings for his lumbar spine and upper extremity radiculopathy disabilities was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating higher than 20 percent for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, but granted separate ratings for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left upper extremity radiculopathy.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that his condition has fluctuated between mild to moderate severity over the course of the appeal period and never reached moderately severe or worse.

The Veteran's TDIU was granted with an effective date of November 19, 2010 due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has remanded the claims for higher initial ratings for right knee disability, low back disability, and right lower extremity radiculopathy due to outstanding VA treatment records. Separate compensable ratings are also being considered.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a neck disorder, radiculopathy of the left upper extremity, and right and left knee disorders have been granted.,Service connection is denied for asbestosis.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional VA examinations to determine the severity of his service-connected disabilities throughout the entire appeal period.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the complexity of his medical history and the need for further examination to differentiate between symptoms attributable to his left ankle disability and other service-connected or non-service-connected conditions.

The Board found clear and unmistakable error in the assignment of a separate rating for right upper extremity radiculopathy, which was already contemplated in the evaluation assigned for cervical spine IVDS under DC 5243. The Veteran's entitlement to a separate compensable evaluation for right upper extremity radiculopathy is denied.