Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2024

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, radiculopathy of the RUE and LUE, and a right shoulder disability due to insufficient evidence.,Service connection cannot be granted as there is no diagnosis of hearing loss or radiculopathy in the Veteran's records.

The veteran withdrew his appeal for all issues on appeal, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review the appeal.

The Veteran's service-connected low back disability, characterized by degenerative disc disease at L5-S1 and lumbar radiculopathy, did not meet the criteria for a higher rating than 20 percent prior to June 22, 2015; and higher than 40 percent thereafter. The Board denied his claims.

The Board has granted an earlier effective date of May 12, 2022 for the Veteran's service connection for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board has granted service connection for right leg sciatica prior to May 9, 2022, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected back disability.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining necessary examinations and opinions, particularly regarding the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and their impact on his employability.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for right and left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy since October 2, 2023.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, warranting TDIU.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right upper extremity radiculopathy because they were not adjudicated in an initial rating decision within one year of the July 2022 rating decision.

The Veteran's right upper extremity radiculopathy is currently rated at 20 percent, but the Board has granted a higher rating of 40 percent effective from January 28, 2021.

The Veteran's initial rating for service-connected left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve) is being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The AOJ must obtain private medical records from October 2018 to March 2022, including EMG testing results and operation reports related to the Veteran's nerve stimulator.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for sciatic radiculopathy was dismissed due to the appellant's death.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including scheduling a VA examination for the Veteran's lower extremity radiculopathy and referring the TDIU claim for extraschedular consideration.

The Board has granted a TDIU and established basic eligibility for Dependents' Education Assistance benefits due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The combined rating of his service-connected conditions is 90 percent, meeting the criteria for a TDIU.

The Board has granted an earlier effective date of September 23, 2021 for the award of service connection for migraine headaches and a TDIU due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to May 9, 2021 for service connection of left lower extremity radiculopathy affecting the sciatic nerve, status post S1 nerve root decompression was denied. The Board also remanded his claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for this condition due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for TDIU and DEA due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, and the case is now referred to the Director of Compensation Service for consideration on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for his service-connected left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve is remanded. The Board finds that he continuously pursued a higher initial rating since filing for service connection on August 12, 2021.

The Board has remanded the claims for sleep apnea, back disability, lower left extremity radiculopathy, and upper left extremity neuropathy due to insufficient evidence of current diagnoses or causal relationships.

The Board granted increased disability ratings of 40 percent for left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy and 20 percent for right lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy.