The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left sciatic radiculopathy, lumbar degenerative disc disease, right hammer toes, and left hammer toes were denied as the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his symptoms.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence showed that the Veteran's conditions did not warrant ratings in excess of 10 percent for sciatic radiculopathy or lumbar degenerative disc disease, and no compensable ratings were warranted for hammer toes due to lack of functional impact.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Sciatic Radiculopathy, Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 11, 2019
- Citation
- A19003454
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19003454.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding whether PTSD is caused or aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected lumbar degenerative disc disease. The case will be returned for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for PTSD, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for acquired psychiatric disorder, and increased ratings for left knee patellofemoral syndrome and left lower extremity radiculopathy were denied. The Veteran's claim for a TDIU was also remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, bilateral hearing loss, and left sciatic radiculopathy as the evidence of record did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by active military service. The issues related to pain of lumbar spine, left foot condition (pes planus and plantar fasciitis), and right foot condition (pes planus and plantar fasciitis) are remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for the lumbar spine disability and a 20 percent rating for left, right sciatic radiculopathy, and left, right femoral radiculopathy. The claims for increased ratings for left ankle and knee disabilities were denied.
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