The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left hip disorder was reopened, and he is now rated at 40 percent for lumbar spine arthritis with DDD and IVDS from June 11, 2014 to September 4, 2018. He also received separate ratings for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy of both the femoral and sciatic nerves.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lumbar spine disorder caused significant disability including DDD, IVDS, and radiculopathy which resulted in a combined rating of 40 percent from June 11, 2014 to September 4, 2018. The decision also addressed other issues such as the reduction of bilateral pes planus.
- Claimed conditions
- left hip contusion, lumbar spine arthritis with DDD and IVDS, right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, right lower extremity radiculopathy of the femoral nerve, left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, left lower extremity radiculopathy of the femoral nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- August 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19161667
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · Granted: 24% (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 19161667.
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.
- Dismissed
Your initial evaluations for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve have been granted, but your appeal is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all issues on appeal as the May 2024 rating decision was a purely ministerial implementation of the April 2024 Board decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disabilities, as well as their associated radiculopathy conditions, are remanded for further development. The fibromyalgia with headaches claim is also remanded due to a duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected RUE brachial plexus injury and lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve should be rated higher than their current noncompensable (0 percent) ratings.
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