The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability, including sciatica and radiculopathy of the right lower extremities, is found to be related to her active duty service. The claim for service connection is granted.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided an opinion that the current L5-S1 disc herniation with L5 radiculopathy is caused by or a result of the Veteran's low back and leg pain during service, supported by her credible reports of consistent symptoms since 2003.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine disability, sciatica, radiculopathy of the right lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 14, 2014
- Citation
- 1416368
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1416368.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disabilities due to a predecisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's past medical history needs to be considered in the new examination.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss disorder, gout, multiple painful joints, bilateral ankle disorder, bilateral knee disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for TDIU is being remanded due to a duty to assist error regarding her service-connected depression. She needs an examination to assess the impact of her depression on her ability to work.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as directly related to service.,The Veteran's thoracolumbar spine disability and cervical spine disability are both granted as directly related to service.,Both conditions were found to be at least as likely as not caused by the Veteran's military service.
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