Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2025

The Board denied several claims for service connection and higher ratings, granted service connection for a right knee disability and a right wrist disability as secondary to the service-connected right little finger, fifth metacarpal, degenerative arthritis, and remanded other claims.

The Board granted a 50 percent rating for the Veteran's low back disability, but denied increased ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of May 29, 2015, for the award of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and denied initial ratings in excess of 20 percent for degenerative arthritis, lumbosacral/thoracic paraspinal lumbar spine, right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, and left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve.

The Board granted an effective date of September 12, 2017, but no earlier, for the award of service connection for right upper extremity radiculopathy associated with cervical spine degenerative disc disease and denied all other claims.

The Board granted an effective date of January 18, 2020, for the award of service connection for right lower extremity hamstring pain and left lower extremity radiculopathy. The claim for adjustment disorder was denied earlier than May 26, 2021.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the radial nerve and radiculopathy in both upper and lower extremities, finding that the evidence did not support a disability rating higher than 20 percent.

The Board granted a 30% rating for bronchitis from April 26, 2023, and higher ratings of 40% for radiculopathy in both lower extremities and 30% for the femoral nerve from February 7, 2018 or 2019, as well as a TDIU.

The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine condition and bilateral upper extremity cervical radiculopathy as the evidence did not support that these conditions were incurred in or related to the Veteran's active military service.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, as there was no evidence of a formal or informal claim prior to January 10, 2022.

The Board granted restoration of a separate 10 percent rating for residuals of a TBI, and restored the 10 percent disability evaluations for left and right lower extremity sciatica, as well as granting entitlement to a TDIU.

The Board granted service connection for left upper extremity radiculopathy, right upper extremity radiculopathy, a left shoulder disability, a right shoulder disability secondary to a service-connected left shoulder condition, and a left ankle disability.

The appeals to reverse or revise the effective dates for service connection of sciatic and femoral radiculopathy were dismissed, as well as the appeal for an earlier TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Board denied increased ratings for radiculopathy in the right and left lower extremities, a compensable rating for a scar from left knee surgery, and earlier effective dates for service connection of various conditions. However, it granted a 30 percent rating for left femoral nerve radiculopathy starting June 16, 2021, and an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve) from November 7, 2018.

The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that these conditions are secondary to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus and lumbar strain respectively.

The Board granted an effective date of August 20, 2010, for service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy of the femoral nerve.

The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a failure by the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) to provide notice of the Veteran's right to a hearing and to readjudicate the claims after fulfilling this requirement.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with IVDS, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, and a scar on the lumbar spine.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the claims for increased ratings for knee and low back disabilities, as well as a total disability rating due to individual unemployability.

The Board granted an effective date of August 15, 2016, for the award of a 30 percent rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy and granted service connection for right upper extremity radiculopathy with an effective date of July 29, 2016. The appeal was denied for increased ratings in several conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection of radiculopathy in both lower extremities, as there was no evidence that the conditions manifested prior to September 2, 2021.