Radiculopathy & sciatica Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to incomplete compliance with previous remand directives and issues related to neurologic complications of IVDS.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for tinnitus, lumbar myositis (back condition), and left lower extremity radiculopathy associated with lumbar myositis due to incomplete personnel records and insufficient information regarding the severity of his conditions. The Veteran will need to provide legible DD-214 and other personnel records, and an additional VA examination is required.

The Board denied service connection for a chronic disability manifested by dizziness and loss of balance, a back disability, and radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities due to lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated during military service.

The Board denied service connection for DDD of the lumbar spine, IVDS with residual scar, and left leg sciatica as these conditions did not have their onset in service or are otherwise unrelated to service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to inadequate opinions in previous VA examinations and for obtaining updated treatment records.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for higher ratings and service connection are remanded to obtain additional medical opinions. The effective date of any grant is not addressed in this decision.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including depression, lumbar spine disability, intervertebral osteochondrosis, C3-C4, C6-C7, bilateral hearing loss, parotid gland neoplasm, and peripheral neuropathy have been granted with effective dates of May 20, 2011.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for depression has also been granted with an effective date of January 30, 2009.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for residuals of head injury, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, and radiculopathy of the upper extremities due to procedural errors and insufficient development. The Veteran needs a VA examination by a neurologist or other headache specialist to address his claim of service connection for head injury residuals, including headaches. If deemed relevant, an opinion with respect to the nature and etiology of the cervical spine disability and related radiculopathy should also be obtained.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities. The Veteran needs to undergo more contemporaneous examinations to determine the current severity of his left knee, spine, shoulder, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and hypertension disabilities.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy were denied increased ratings. The effective date for the 20 percent rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy was denied, as was a prior effective date.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's rehabilitation plan and vocational rehabilitation services need to be reviewed due to her request for a change in her long-term goal from obtaining an engineering degree to pursuing a medical doctorate. The discontinuance of her VR&E services was also challenged, and both issues are being remanded for further evaluation.

The Board denied service connection for a left eye disability, finding that the Veteran's preexisting eye condition did not worsen during service and was not related to any in-service injury or disease.,Service connection for a lumbar spine disability was also denied. The Board found no evidence of chronic low back symptoms in service, nor did they manifest within a presumptive period following separation from service. The Veteran's current diagnoses were noted more than a decade after his separation and do not show continuity of symptomatology since service.,The Board denied service connection for sciatic neuropathy of the right lower extremity, concluding that there was no evidence of chronic symptoms in service or within a presumptive period following separation from service. The Veteran's current diagnoses were noted more than a decade after his separation and do not show continuity of symptomatology since service.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for initial ratings in excess of 30 percent for cervical spine disability and radiculopathy of the left upper extremity, as well as his request for an earlier effective date. A separate rating of 40 percent was granted for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity since March 14, 2019.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have precluded him from obtaining and securing substantially gainful employment that is consistent with his education and occupational experience.

The Board has granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy effective September 30, 2014. The Veteran's other knee disability rating claims are remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including back disorder, bilateral knee disorders, radiculopathy of upper and lower extremities, skin disorder, and jaw disorder. The appeal is being returned to obtain additional VA treatment records and to provide a medical opinion regarding the etiology of these conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for residuals of fractured lumbar spine and left leg radiculopathy, but denied service connection for a right hip disorder.

The Veteran is granted TDIU prior to December 19, 2016. The appeal for the period from December 19, 2016, to July 1, 2018, is dismissed as moot due to SMC at a rate under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s). TDIU on or after July 1, 2018, remains pending.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his thoracolumbar spine IVDS and bilateral lumbar radiculopathy was partially granted, with the effective date set at January 1, 2020. The Veteran is now rated at 40 percent for his thoracolumbar spine IVDS since that date.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the lack of documentation explaining the basis for the denial and what medical expenses are at issue. The AOJ must associate such documents with the file before the Board can make a decision on the merits.