Radiculopathy & sciatica Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn by his authorized representative, and thus the appeal is dismissed.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for right and left upper extremity radiculopathy have been dismissed as the July 7, 2025 rating decision granted service connection for bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy effective February 19, 2020.

The Board has granted service connection for a low back disability and lumbosacral spine radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities (left and right) as secondary to the now service-connected low back disability.

The Veteran's left knee disability alone is sufficient to render him unemployable, and his other disabilities (depressive disorder, radiculopathy, low back disability) are at least as disabling. The combined rating for these conditions meets the criteria for SMC at the housebound rate.

The Veteran's low back disability is rated at 40 percent, and his left and right lower extremity radiculopathy are each rated at 40 percent. The issues of increased ratings for these conditions have been granted.

The Veteran's LLE radiculopathy is granted an increased rating to 40% effective June 30, 2022. The back disability remains at a 40% rating.

The Board has granted effective dates of November 6, 2020 for both the TDIU and DEA benefits. The Veteran had no service-connected disabilities prior to this date.

The Board has dismissed all appeals related to the appellant's claims for service connection due to his withdrawal of the appeal.

The Veteran's left lower extremity neuropathy and radiculopathy sciatica are granted a 40% disability rating, effective July 26, 2006. The issue of TDIU is granted from July 26, 2006 to January 16, 2019.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and radiculopathy of the right upper extremity was granted with an effective date of February 28, 2024.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of left arm radiculopathy and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for low back disability and radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities due to a failure to provide adequate reasons or bases in the November 2024 decision as to whether the pre-decisional duty to assist had been satisfied.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA examiner's opinion regarding whether his service-connected disabilities result in loss of use and if so, whether he requires aid and attendance without considering such disability/ies. The Veteran also needs to be considered for SMC R1 based on the need for regular aid and attendance.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension, diabetes type II (DM II), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and sciatica in both the right and left lower extremities due to obesity resulting from service-connected back and bilateral knee disabilities. The decision is based on a private medical opinion that concluded the Veteran's conditions are caused by his weight gain and obesity, which were caused by his service-connected back and bilateral knee disabilities.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disability and bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy, finding that these conditions are related to his active military service.

The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity femoral nerve peripheral neuropathy was granted an effective date of September 12, 2014.,The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity sciatic nerve peripheral neuropathy received a rating in excess of 10 percent prior to January 14, 2020.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are being remanded due to a failure to clarify the symptomology associated with his trophic changes.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on need for aid and attendance or housebound status.

The Veteran's appeal for SMC-AA/HB and service connection for urinary frequency secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral strain with spinal stenosis is being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a lack of a VA examination, and the need to determine if any identified recurrent lumbar spine disability had its onset during active service or is related to any incident of service. The examiner must also assess whether it is at least as likely as not that any identified recurrent lumbar spine disability is due to or the result of the cervical spine degenerative arthritis and spondylosis and other service-connected disabilities.