Radiculopathy & sciatica Board decisions

The Board has remanded several issues for further development, including entitlement to increased ratings and service connection. The rating reductions for certain radiculopathy conditions were not proper, and the Veteran's right lower extremity sciatic and femoral radiculopathy ratings have been restored from 10 percent to 20 percent effective August 12, 2019.

The Board denied service connection for a CV disorder, skin cancer, bilateral lower extremity edema, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy. The Veteran's disabilities do not meet the criteria for TDIU.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of proper development, including scheduling and notifying the Veteran of scheduled VA examinations. The Veteran's left lower extremity radiculopathy is being reviewed for possible service connection.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his lumbar spine disability, left and right sciatic radiculopathy, and TDIU due to service-connected disabilities. The claims are being remanded because the VA did not properly address these issues in their previous decisions.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for right upper extremity radiculopathy, finding that there is no evidence of such a condition during or since service and that it is not related to his service-connected cervical spine disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and thus grants his claim for total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board denied a TDIU on an extraschedular basis prior to September 14, 2011 due to the preponderance of evidence showing that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a separate rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy and TDIU prior to specific dates due to insufficient medical opinions. The VA is required to provide an addendum opinion addressing the relevant medical records, including those from February 2009 and April 2009.

The Veteran's initial claim for increased ratings for DDD of the lumbar spine and associated radiculopathy was denied. The Veteran is currently evaluated at 40 percent disabling for DDD of the lumbar spine.,For the period from July 11, 2013 to June 25, 2015, the Veteran's left lower extremity radiculopathy associated with DDD of the lumbar spine was evaluated at 20 percent. The Board found that this evaluation is appropriate and denied a higher rating.

The Veteran's left lower extremity radiculopathy is granted service connection with an effective date of April 26, 2016. The right lower extremity radiculopathy claim has no earlier effective date as it was not shown to be related to the back disability prior to June 17, 2019.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection and rating increases have been dismissed due to his death.

The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting information regarding the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and their impact on his ability to use his feet. The VA is instructed to schedule an examination to clarify these issues.

The Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder is rated at 70 percent from December 18, 2013 to June 21, 2016, due to its significant impact on his occupational and social functioning.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete VA medical opinions, outstanding private treatment records, and need for additional Reserve service records. The Veteran's cervical spine disability is being reviewed again with a focus on his military duties, chest pain, and exposure to cold weather conditions.

The Board dismissed the appeal for rating and disability rating issues due to the appellant's withdrawal of the appeal.

The Board has granted service connection for cervical radiculopathy of the right upper extremity, impairment of the upper, middle and lower radicular groups. The Veteran's C5-C6 disc bulge is found to have caused these conditions.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings were denied. The maximum schedular ratings have been assigned for his service-connected disabilities, and no higher ratings are warranted based on the evidence of record.

The Board has remanded the cases for additional development and an addendum VA opinion to determine if the Veteran's current back condition is related to service, including his in-service injuries. The issues of bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy are also being remanded due to their interdependence with the back issue.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from obtaining and retaining substantially gainful employment for the period prior to July 26, 2019.

The Veteran's PTSD and right lower extremity radiculopathy have been granted increased ratings, but the issue of service connection for hypertension secondary to PTSD has been remanded.