Radiculopathy & sciatica Board decisions

The Board granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, but denied an increased disability rating for the Veteran's herniated nucleus pulposus with post-traumatic arthritis of the lumbar spine.

The Board granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy and denied increased ratings for the lumbar spine condition, right lower extremity radiculopathy, earlier effective dates, and special monthly compensation.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased rating and service connection, finding no evidence of current disabilities related to his active service.

The Board granted a 10 percent rating for the Veteran's painful scar associated with his cervical spine disability from December 4, 2019, and remanded other issues for further development.

The Board dismissed the issues of the propriety of proposed reductions in ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, as the November 2024 rating decision was not a final agency action.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, remanding some issues for further development.

The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, radiculopathy impacting both lower extremities on a secondary basis to the back disability, and right knee degenerative arthritis.

The Board granted service connection for several conditions, including lumbar condition and PTSD, with specific ratings and effective dates.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for left and right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, as the evidence did not support a finding of moderate incomplete paralysis.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's back disability, radiculopathy of both lower extremities, limitation of pronation and flexion of the right elbow, and scarring, but granted a 40 percent rating from March 26, 2024 to September 17, 2024.

The Board granted an initial 20 percent rating prior to September 17, 2020, and a 40 percent rating from September 17, 2020, for the Veteran's left lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran was granted an earlier effective date of October 1, 1997, for the award of service connection for residuals of a gunshot wound to the right foot. The motion for revision or reversal on the basis of CUE of a December 1997 rating decision that denied service connection for a right foot GSW was dismissed. An earlier effective date for service connection for radiculopathy of the RLE with femoral nerve impairment (claimed as right leg nerve condition) and entitlement to service connection for a right knee, hip, or elbow condition were denied.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for upper and lower extremity radiculopathy due to a need for additional evidence.

The Board denied service connection for IBS, chronic fatigue syndrome, and increased ratings for bilateral foot conditions and bilateral hearing loss. The TBI, cervical spine, left knee, right knee, lower left extremity neurological condition, lower right extremity neurological condition, and neuropathy of the right ankle residuals were remanded.

The Board denied service connection for a deviated nasal septum and denied increased ratings for the back, right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, and left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy. The Board also denied earlier effective dates for chronic sinusitis and an increased rating for the back disability.

The Board denied service connection for bowel incontinence and radiculopathies of various bilateral upper and lower extremities as secondary to a low back disability due to the lack of evidence showing current diagnoses.

The Board remands the issues on appeal for correction of a pre-decisional duty to assist error, specifically failing to provide notice of the Veteran's right to a hearing.

The Board remands the claims for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the appellant's lumbosacral spine intervertebral disc syndrome with strain, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for diabetes mellitus, left and right lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, and higher ratings for residuals of a gunshot wound to the left leg with fractured tibia and fibula, injury to muscle group XII, shortening of the leg, damage to the peroneal nerve, radiculopathy, and diabetic neuropathy, but granted an initial 20% rating for right lower extremity diabetic neuropathy.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and a TDIU, finding that his disabilities did not meet the criteria for higher ratings.