Radiculopathy & sciatica Board decisions

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent, prior to March 12, 2010, and 40 percent thereafter, for service-connected right upper extremity radiculopathy because no appeal was filed within the required time frame.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection of diabetes mellitus. The remaining issues have been remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation since August 11, 2008.

The Board has decided that the Veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy and remanded for further development regarding his left knee disorder.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for right hip, right knee, lumbar spine, and radiculopathy disabilities due to issues with the examinations provided by VA. The Veteran is seeking service connection for these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case for further development to determine if the Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy, urinary incontinence, and erectile dysfunction are neurologic abnormalities associated with his service-connected lumbar spine IVDS prior to specific dates.

The Veteran's PTSD is granted at a 30 percent rating for the entire period prior to January 15, 2020. A higher rating of in excess of 70 percent for PTSD from January 15, 2020 is denied.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a liver disability, an increased rating for his lumbar spine disability prior to September 18, 2019, and an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy. The claim for TDIU was also denied.

The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy is granted a 40 percent rating, but no higher. The left lower extremity radiculopathy is granted a 20 percent rating, but no higher.

The Veteran's right shoulder degenerative joint disease is currently rated at 40 percent prior to March 18, 2016 and 30 percent thereafter. The Veteran's right upper extremity radiculopathy was initially rated at 20 percent from October 10, 2018 to December 15, 2019 and is now rated at 50 percent.,The Veteran's right shoulder disability has been found to be more than just limited motion of the arm midway between side and shoulder level.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy. The claims are based on direct service connection due to the Veteran's active duty service.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent, effective October 1, 2015. The rating for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities remains at 20 percent.

The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy is rated at 40 percent prior to July 15, 2015, and the Board has granted a grant of this rating. The issue remains pending as he was denied an increased rating for his condition after that date.

The Board has remanded the claims for increased evaluations for right upper extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, and cervical spine disability. A new VA examination is required to assess current severity of these conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his thoracolumbar spine disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathies, have rendered him unemployable since October 15, 2019. A TDIU rating is granted from that date.

The Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability is rated at 30 percent from May 31, 2018. He also received a grant of service connection for left upper extremity radiculopathy with an effective date of February 25, 2019, and a scar, status post cervical fusion with an effective date of December 28, 2016.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's symptoms of right hip, left hip, right lower extremity sciatica, and left lower extremity sciatica are part of her service-connected meralgia paresthetica (MP) disability. Therefore, these conditions cannot be separately service connected.

The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy is currently rated at 20 percent effective July 22, 2016. The Veteran's left lower extremity sciatica remains rated at 20 percent. Both conditions are granted.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative changes and bilateral sciatic nerve condition are granted service connection. The hernia condition and cervical strain issues remain pending for further development.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his chronic lumbar strain and TDIU was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for the lumbar strain, as it did not meet the criteria for such a rating based on limitation of motion or other factors. For the TDIU claim, the Veteran's combined disability rating had already reached 100% due to his service-connected disabilities, including cervical radiculopathy and left knee instability, which precluded him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.