Radiculopathy & sciatica decisions — 2025

The Board denied earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection and disability ratings, as well as remanded certain claims.

The Board granted initial disability ratings of 40 percent for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, a 20 percent rating for lumbar spine disability, denied an increased rating for obstructive sleep apnea with asthma, granted TDIU from May 7, 2021, and SMC from September 10, 2021.

The Board granted an initial rating of 70 percent for the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder due to another medical condition with depressive features and generalized anxiety disorder, denied a higher rating for his migraine including migraine variants, and denied ratings for other conditions.

The appeal for an initial increased rating for degenerative disc disease with lumbar radiculopathy was dismissed due to a concurrent election of review options.

The Board granted service connection for left and right lower sciatic radiculopathy with an effective date of May 12, 2009.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including left foot condition, right foot condition, cellulitis, right ear hearing loss, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The appeal of the proposal to reduce a 40 percent evaluation for lumbosacral strain was dismissed.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection, increased ratings, and earlier effective dates as there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between his current conditions and his active military service.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left leg sciatic radiculopathy, right leg sciatic radiculopathy, and right upper extremity neuropathy due to a lack of evidence supporting current diagnoses or functional impairment.

The appeal was withdrawn by the Veteran before the Board promulgated a decision.

The Board denied a disability rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus and a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbosacral strain, but granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy.

The Board granted an initial rating of 50 percent for right upper extremity radiculopathy and 40 percent for left upper extremity radiculopathy.

The Board denied an effective date prior to December 4, 2024, for the grant of service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and denied initial compensable ratings for bilateral hearing loss and a lumbar spine disability. However, it granted a 20 percent rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy associated with the service-connected lumbar spine disability.

The Board granted service connection for left and right carpal tunnel, pain of the right wrist and hand, carpal tunnel syndrome of the left upper extremity, bilateral leg condition, including pain, sciatic radicular pain, hypoesthesia, and paresthesia. The claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, chronic fatigue syndrome, headaches disability, and a 10 percent rating for sinusitis were denied.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including bilateral plantar fasciitis, chronic pain syndrome, sciatic radicular pain of both legs, traumatic brain injury (TBI), shin splints of both legs, thoracic spondylosis, right shoulder strain, right wrist strain, acne, and allergic rhinitis.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, finding no relevant official service department records were added after the July 2008 rating decision that would vitiate its finality.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and higher ratings, finding that the evidence did not support an earlier date of entitlement or a higher rating based on the current medical findings.

The Board granted a 40 percent disability rating for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, as well as separate ratings of 10 to 20 percent for various nerve conditions. The back disability was denied a higher rating.

The Board denied the claims for increased ratings pertaining to the Veteran's service-connected low back disability and associated radiculopathy of the LLE, except as noted for a 60 percent rating from December 2, 2023.

The Board granted a separate 10 percent rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy (femoral nerve) effective from August 14, 2013, but denied higher initial ratings for the sciatic nerve.

The Board remands the claims for a higher rating for lumbar spine disability, lower extremity radiculopathy, and TDIU due to insufficient evidence and non-compliance with previous remand instructions.