Radiculopathy & sciatica Board decisions

The Board granted an effective date of August 1, 2014, for GERD and service connection for right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy.

The Board denied service connection for depressive disorder and left hip pain, but granted service connection for lumbar left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right ankle disability due to inadequate VA examinations and missing evidence.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating for individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities and basic eligibility of Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits as of April 12, 2016.

The Board denied service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy, right upper extremity radiculopathy, chronic sinusitis, and bilateral hearing loss. The initial disability ratings for PTSD, cervical spine disability, and left upper extremity radiculopathy were also denied. Several issues related to service connection were remanded.

The Board granted service connection for degenerative joint and disc disease in the thoracolumbar spine, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy. The remaining claims were remanded.

The Board granted a separate rating for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity from March 17, 2020, and a 40 percent rating for both the right and left lower extremities from May 28, 2010, to September 9, 2021.

The Board granted a temporary total evaluation for the service-connected lumbar spine disability requiring convalescence from July 20, 2018, to August 31, 2018. The Board also granted initial ratings of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities involving the sciatic nerve until certain dates, denied higher ratings, and granted a 50 percent rating for the lumbar spine disability starting September 1, 2018.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar spine herniated disc and right lower extremity radiculopathy, as the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board granted service connection for right middle knuckle disability, dry eye syndrome, bilateral foot disability, cervical spine disability, radiculopathy of the upper extremities, and anxiety disorder. The claim for a stroke was denied, as well as an increased rating for respiratory disability prior to December 8, 2021.

The Board granted service connection for a left ankle disorder and assigned initial ratings of 40 percent, but no higher, for right upper extremity radiculopathy and 30 percent, but no higher, for left upper extremity radiculopathy.

The claims for increased ratings and secondary service connection are being remanded to correct a duty-to-assist error.

The Board granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve and an initial rating of 40 percent for lumbosacral strain, while denying service connection for right foot pain. Other claims were remanded.

The Board denied an increased rating for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability and left lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.

The Board granted a 20 percent initial evaluation for right and left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, finding the conditions to be moderate incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve.

The Board remands the claims for service connection and TDIU due to unverified periods of active duty for training (ADT) and inactive duty for training (IDT), as well as a lack of complete service treatment records.

The Board denied an initial rating higher than 20 percent for left upper extremity radiculopathy prior to January 3, 2020, and granted a 30 percent rating since January 3, 2022. The Board also denied an initial rating higher than 10 percent for bilateral plantar fasciitis.

The Board granted an effective date of September 20, 2022 for the assignment of service connection and a disability rating of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity from September 20, 2022 to March 20, 2024.

The Board denied the veteran's attempts to appeal rating decisions that denied service connection for various conditions and reduced his evaluation, as the appeals were not timely filed.

The Board granted service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including iliotibial band syndrome of the left knee, a cervical spine disability, radiculopathy of the right and left upper extremities, alopecia totalis, a right hip disability, a left hip disability, a right elbow disability, a right shoulder disability, and a left shoulder disability.