Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2024

The Veteran was unable to maintain substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities from January 25, 2007 to July 23, 2008. The Board granted a TDIU for this period.

The Veteran's appeal for TDIU, DEA benefits, and SMC prior to October 2, 2017 was denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the schedular criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability during this period due to his service-connected disabilities. The Veteran also did not have a permanent total service-connected disability in effect prior to October 2, 2017. Effective April 19, 2021, but no earlier, the Veteran was granted SMC benefits based on individual unemployability.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for the issues of service connection for various conditions, including bilateral hearing loss, tachycardia, chronic tonsillitis and adenoiditis status post surgery, Brugada syndrome, adverse effect of selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, radiculopathy in the left lower extremity, and radiculopathy in the right lower extremity. The appeal is dismissed.

The Veteran's appeals for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities, as well as an initial compensable evaluation for hypertension, have been dismissed due to his death. The appeal will not be resumed unless a request for substitution is made within one year.

Service connection for arthritis of the lumbar spine is granted. The appeals for insomnia, tension headaches, and right leg radiculopathy are remanded for further development.

The Board has granted service connection for a back disorder, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and tinnitus. The Veteran's in-service symptoms of back pain have been linked to her current condition.,Service connection is denied for disability manifested by incontinence.

The Board has decided that service connection for plantar fasciitis is denied. The remaining claims of service connection for allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, bronchitis with chronic cough, anxiety, depression, insomnia, headaches, acid reflux with nausea, benign prostatic hyperplasia with voiding dysfunction, kidney stones, cervicalgia, lumbago, sciatica, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, bilateral elbow epicondylitis, a left knee condition, and right knee strain are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with his education and work history, leading the Board to grant TDIU.

The Board denied increased ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy involving the sciatic nerve, finding that the disability did not more nearly approximate moderately severe incomplete paralysis.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for radiculopathy of both lower extremities and lumbar spine disability. The case is being remanded to obtain a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the lumbar spine disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for VR&E benefits, other than employment services, to pursue additional education or training to become a Physician Assistant (PA) or Doctor (MD), finding that she already had the necessary education and skills to obtain suitable employment without further training.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The claim for an increased rating for hiatal hernia with GERD was denied as the symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. Service connection claims for blepharitis, trichiasis, lumbosacral radiculopathy and piriformis syndrome, peripheral neuropathy of the right side, and peripheral neuropathy of the left side were also denied.

The Board has denied initial disability ratings in excess of 20 percent for the service-connected right lower extremity radiculopathy and in excess of 10 percent for the left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than July 20, 2022, for service connection of right hip osteoarthritis with limitation of flexion and left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy (sciatic nerve) due to lack of evidence showing entitlement prior to that date.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to October 20, 2021, for service connection of intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) with sacroiliac injury, lumbosacral strain, and degenerative disc disease (DDD), left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to IVDS, right lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to IVDS, and a linear low back scar microdiscectomy as secondary to IVDS.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for an effective date prior to July 14, 2021, for service connection for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities are denied.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbar strain is remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current diagnosis of sleep apnea is causally related to his service-connected shoulder impingement syndrome with glenohumeral and acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, degenerative arthritis of the spine with spinal stenosis, and left lower extremity sciatica, radiculopathy. Therefore, service connection for sleep apnea is granted.

The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for chronic lumbar strain is remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors and the need for a new VA examination.