Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2023

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his service-connected conditions did not contribute to his death from cardiorespiratory failure due to coronary artery disease.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development and consideration of his service connection claims, including a new VA examination to determine the etiology of his left knee disorder and psychiatric disability. The rating for his back disability is also remanded due to inadequate examinations.

The Veteran's left lower extremity sciatic and femoral nerve radiculopathy were rated at 10 percent prior to January 11, 2022 and 20 percent thereafter. The Board found the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further evaluation due to unclear functional loss and incomplete examination reports.

The Board has dismissed all claims of entitlement to increased ratings for various conditions as the Veteran's authorized representative withdrew the appeal in its entirety.

The Board has remanded the claims for posttraumatic stress disorder, right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, tinnitus, allergic rhinitis, bilateral foot condition, erectile dysfunction, hypertension, right knee pain, left knee pain, degenerative disc disease, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, sleep apnea, and benign prostatic hypertrophy due to incomplete service treatment records.

The Veteran's right and left lower extremity radiculopathy are both rated at 20 percent, with the case being remanded for further consideration of a TDIU claim.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional evidentiary development, including obtaining outstanding relevant records and scheduling a retrospective VA examination of her lumbar spine disability.

The Board has determined that the reduction of the Veteran's prostate cancer residuals from 100% to 40% was improper and has restored the original rating. The claims for increased ratings for bilateral lower extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, femoral nerve (right and left) are remanded due to lack of recent VA examination. The claim for SMC based on housebound status is granted from April 7, 2016.

The Board has found that the Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to inadequate development and need further examination and opinion.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection, as they are inextricably intertwined with his cervical spine disability claim.,These issues include secondary service connection for cervical spine disability, OSA, scar of the right anterior base of neck, and bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy as there is no current diagnosis of this condition.

The Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy is dismissed because he did not request a revision based on clear and unmistakable error, nor did he provide evidence to reopen his claim.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for right upper extremity radiculopathy was denied, and the Board granted TDIU effective from September 26, 2013.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for lumbar strain with intervertebral disc syndrome, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy due to a cancelled VA examination. The Veteran was unable to attend the scheduled examination.

Your claims for increased ratings and service connection have been denied due to your failure to report for scheduled VA examinations.,The Veteran failed to appear for the required VA examinations without providing good cause.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the low back disability, right lower extremity sciatic nerve, and left lower extremity sciatic nerve.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to inconsistencies in the range of motion assessment and severity characterization of the Veteran's radiculopathy.

The Board has remanded three issues related to the Veteran's cervical spine disability, including a higher rating for cervical strain with degenerative joint disease and radiculopathy of both upper extremities. The TDIU claim is also being remanded due to its inextricability from these other claims.

The Veteran's initial compensable disability rating for chronic headaches prior to June 17, 2013, is denied. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a finding of prostrating attacks averaging one in two months or more frequently.