The Veteran's lumbar spine disability and associated sciatic nerve radiculopathy have been granted increased ratings, but the appeal for higher ratings is denied. A TDIU has also been granted. Effective dates prior to April 23, 2014, for service connection are denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lumbar spine disability and associated sciatic nerve radiculopathy have not met criteria warranting a higher rating under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine or the Formula for Rating Intervertebral Disc Syndrome Based on Incapacitating Episodes.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis and IVDS, sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- December 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19190646
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,812 · Granted: 30% (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 19190646.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded due to a failure to obtain relevant VA medical records from the San Juan VA Medical Center. The Veteran meets the schedular threshold for TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities and combined rating of 70 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate examination and duty to assist error. The Veteran's back disability is being examined again to determine if it was aggravated by his service-connected lower extremity disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted. The Board has also remanded the cases for increased rating examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudication of the Veteran's claims for higher ratings in several service-connected conditions. The issues are being remanded for further development, including additional examinations.
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