Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2025

The Veteran's appeal requests for the denial of service connection claims were denied as they were not timely filed.

The appeal for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis was dismissed, while ratings were restored for several conditions and a TDIU was granted.

The Board granted service connection for a low back disability, to include arthritis, IVDS, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis, as well as bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the service-connected low back disability.

The Board granted an effective date for TDIU and SMC from September 1, 2017, but denied earlier effective dates for service connection of various conditions. It also granted a 10% rating for GERD starting July 5, 2016, and other ratings as detailed.

The claim for service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy was dismissed as granting the claim would not lead to any additional relief.

The Board remands the claims for further development and to correct a pre-decisional error of the duty to assist.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for headaches, neck disability, back disability, left knee disability, left shoulder disability, and radiculopathy of the upper and lower extremities to correct a duty to assist error.

The Board remands the claims for a higher rating for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hiatal hernia, multilevel cervical spondylosis, left upper extremity radiculopathy, and right upper extremity radiculopathy to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine with vertebral fracture, sciatica in both lower extremities, and left leg length discrepancy, but denied it for right leg length discrepancy.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for low back disability and bilateral lower extremity sciatica to correct duty to assist errors that occurred prior to the December 2021 decision on appeal.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings as a matter of law due to his failure to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The remaining issues related to the right ankle, lumbar spine, cervical spine, and pes planus were remanded.

The Board remands the Veteran's claims for a higher rating for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy to ensure an adequate VA examination is conducted, which must consider the effects of medications.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including right and left knee disabilities, lumbar spine disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, require care and assistance on a regular basis.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus was granted, while the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and ratings for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), migraines, a neck condition, and cervical radiculopathy of the right upper extremity were denied.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for the service connection of PTSD, right and left shoulder disabilities, and neck disability, as well as higher ratings for these conditions and a TDIU.

The Board remands the claims for higher initial disability ratings and entitlement to TDIU due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Board granted service connection for a psychiatric disorder, degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and tinnitus. The claim for a right eye condition was denied.

The Veteran's PTSD was granted an increased initial rating of 50 percent, while the ratings for right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve were denied.

The Board granted restoration of the 20 percent rating for the lumbar spine disability from August 1, 2020, up to July 14, 2022. The claims for earlier effective dates for the other conditions were denied.