The Veteran's bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatica) is granted as service connected. The claims for mitral valve prolapse, positional orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), residuals of a stroke, and gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD) are denied.
The deciding factor: The private examiner concluded that the Veteran's sciatica was caused by his service-connected lumbosacral strain, while the VA examiner disagreed. The Board found the medical opinions to be in approximate balance, resolving the benefit of doubt in favor of the Veteran for sciatica.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatica), mitral valve prolapse, positional orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), residuals of a stroke, gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19113896
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · 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 19113896.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bicuspid aortic valve and mitral valve prolapse, finding that the Veteran's heart disability was aggravated by military service.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a heart disability (mitral valve prolapse) due to new and relevant evidence, finding that it was aggravated by military service. Service connection is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of adequate examination, and further evaluation is needed to determine if the Veteran's heart disability had its onset during active service or is related to any incident of service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a left hip disability and residuals of a stroke, both secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and right hip disabilities.
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