Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2023

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development regarding his skin condition and right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability was restored to a prior rating of 20 percent. Separate ratings of 60 percent for the left lower extremity and 40 percent for the right lower extremity were granted effective April 23, 2016.

The Veteran's sinusitis with headaches is currently rated at 50 percent effective December 6, 2022. The Board has remanded the issue of an increased rating for this condition.,For the lumbar spine disability, the Veteran was previously granted a 20% rating prior to January 7, 2014, and denied any higher ratings thereafter. The Board has also remanded this issue.,The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy is currently rated at 40 percent from November 17, 2020. The Board has remanded the issue of an increased rating for this condition.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability and right upper extremity radiculopathy have been granted service connection. The right knee disability is remanded for further evaluation.

The Board denied increased ratings for lumbar strain with IVDS, RLE and LLE radiculopathy, sciatic, RLE and LLE radiculopathy, femoral. The evidence did not show the Veteran's conditions were manifested by greater than moderate symptoms or intensity.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are service-connected and granted.,Degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine with degenerative disc disease and disc extrusions is not rated higher than 40 percent.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to April 19, 2019, as he was found to be employed full-time and not unemployable.

The Veteran's cervical spine whiplash injury with subluxation of C3-4 is currently rated at 20 percent effective September 26, 2003.,Secondary service connection for radiculopathy of the bilateral upper extremities is granted.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. §1151 due to inadequate medical opinions in previous decisions.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, with the most recent VA examination showing Level II in the right ear and Level I in the left ear.,Service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy and right lower extremity radiculopathy has been granted as secondary to service-connected lumbosacral strain.

From December 30, 2019 to September 28, 2022, the Veteran's low back disability and sciatic radiculopathy of both lower extremities were granted increased ratings.,Prior to December 30, 2019, the Veteran's low back disability was not rated higher than 20 percent.

The Board has granted a TDIU from February 20, 2002 to August 4, 2003 on an extraschedular basis and a TDIU from August 5, 2003 on a schedular basis. The Veteran's service-connected back disorder rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claims are being remanded due to incomplete records and issues with the evaluation of his service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his service-connected back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy have been denied. The criteria for the requested increased ratings were not met.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for higher disability evaluations due to a withdrawal request by the appellant's authorized representative.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy affecting the sciatic and femoral nerves prior to March 22, 2017 are being remanded due to the need for additional development of medical evidence.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss is also being remanded.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for major depressive disorder, finding that it is proximately due to his service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for radiculopathy of bilateral lower extremities and TDIU prior to September 9, 2010 was denied. The Board found that there were no pending claims for these issues prior to September 9, 2010.

The Veteran's radiculopathy of the left lower extremity (sciatic nerve) is currently rated as 10 percent disabling prior to October 28, 2020 and 20 percent disabling from that date. The Veteran's IBS with gastritis and GERD with hiatal hernia is currently rated as 10 percent disabling prior to March 25, 2021 and 30 percent disabling from that date.,The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings based on the current severity of her conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran sustained additional disability as a result of his October 2016 VA RFA surgical procedure and if such disability is related to carelessness, negligence or similar incidence of fault on the part of the attending VA personnel.