Radiculopathy & sciatica Board decisions

The veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is being remanded for further development.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for her service-connected disabilities are being remanded to the RO for further development and readjudication.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine was denied as there is no legal basis for an effective date prior to April 29, 1993.

The veteran is entitled to direct payment of supplemental attorney fees from past due benefits in connection with an award of increased ratings stemming from an initial claim of entitlement to service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine.

The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the orthopedic manifestations of the service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and right knee disability, but denied increased ratings for other conditions.

The veteran's service-connected DJD and DDD of the lumbar spine is manifested by complaints of pain and no more than moderate functional impairment, accompanied by symptoms compatible with mild neurological deficit in each lower extremity. The Board finds that an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for DJD and DDD of the lumbar spine has not been met.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including chest tumor with blood spots, abdomen and left shoulder tumors, neuralgia, pancreas disability, persistent cough, severe joint pain, peripheral neuropathy, actinic keratosis and skin cancer, diabetes mellitus, type II, memory disability, liver disability and possible cirrhosis, urinary disability, prostate disability, right leg disability, left knee disability, and right hip disability. The Board also denied an increased rating for the veteran's service-connected chronic muscular strain superimposed on degenerative instability with sciatica.

The veteran's initial ratings for allergic rhinitis, herniated disc of the lumbosacral spine, and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity were determined. The rating for the low back disability was increased to 40 percent.

The veteran was granted a 20 percent rating for right lower extremity radiculopathy, but the claim for an increased rating for lumbar spine disability was denied.

The veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for service-connected degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine was denied, and the case is being remanded for further development.

The appeal is being remanded to provide the veteran with proper VCAA notice and to obtain additional evidence.

The Board denied the veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 20 percent for her cervical spine disorder, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The veteran's lumbar radiculopathy was rated at 20 percent for the entire period of claim, while his dorsolumbar paravertebral myositis did not warrant a higher rating.

The case is remanded to the RO for further development and adjudication of the issue of entitlement to an earlier effective date for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's testicular nodule, cervical radiculopathy, peripheral neuropathy, sleep apnea, anemia, periodontitis, hemorrhoids, depression (related to PTSD), migraine headaches, and carpal tunnel syndrome are not related to his active service. However, the veteran's depression is related to his service-connected PTSD.

The veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine and sacroiliitis is rated at 40 percent, and service connection for sciatica of the left lower extremity was granted.

The veteran's adjustment disorder with mixed emotion, anxiety and depression was rated at 30 percent, and the claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) was granted.

The appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to reconcile the November 2004 and March 2006 VA examination findings.

The veteran's service-connected left and right wrist carpal tunnel syndrome, healed rotator cuff tear right shoulder with residuals of subacromial bursitis, and arthritis thoracolumbar spine (claimed as degenerative disc disease lumbar spine with left side radiculopathy) do not warrant ratings in excess of 10 percent.

The veteran's initial rating for his low back disability was denied, but a separate 10 percent rating was granted for associated left lower extremity radiculopathy.