The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 60 percent for residuals of lumbar laminectomy prior to December 5, 2014 and from April 1, 2015 was denied. The Board found that the preponderance of evidence did not support a higher rating under the General Rating Formula. For TDIU claim, the Veteran's combined disability rating is at least 70 percent, meeting the threshold requirements for an award of TDIU. The Board granted TDIU based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities significantly limiting his ability to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence did not support a higher rating under the General Rating Formula for residuals of lumbar laminectomy prior to December 5, 2014 and from April 1, 2015. The Veteran's combined disability rating is at least 70 percent, meeting the threshold requirements for an award of TDIU.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar laminectomy residuals, sciatic radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- September 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19173171
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 19173171.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal because the January 2025 rating decision did not address the current ratings assigned for sciatic radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities, as he had a valid pending Higher-Level Review request regarding these issues.
- Granted
The Veteran's RLE radiculopathy was granted a 40 percent disability rating, effective from May 9, 2016.,The Veteran's LLE radiculopathy was granted a 20 percent disability rating, effective from May 9, 2016.
- Granted
The Veteran's LLE and RLE sciatic radiculopathy, as well as her RLE femoral radiculopathy have been granted initial 20 percent ratings since March 15, 2022.
- Granted
The Veteran's right and left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy were granted a rating of 40 percent each, effective March 28, 2013.
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