The Veteran's claims for effective dates of service connection for left and right lower extremity sciatic nerve disabilities, as well as increased ratings for his lumbar spine disability, are granted. The case is remanded to obtain additional VA medical records and to schedule the Veteran for a new VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence was at least in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran began to exhibit sciatic nerve disabilities during the period on appeal, leading to the grant of earlier effective dates. The case is remanded due to concerns about the status and severity of the Veteran's lumbar spine disability and sciatic nerve disabilities since his November 2018 back surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Lower Extremity Sciatic Nerve Disability, Right Lower Extremity Sciatic Nerve Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20064337
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 940 · Granted: 21% (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 20064337.
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 Veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent effective from December 30, 2020. A TDIU is granted as of December 30, 2020.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for sinusitis, bilateral hearing loss, left and right knee disabilities, and right and left lower extremity sciatic nerve disabilities. However, the Veteran's lumbosacral strain was granted service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for new VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities, including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Degenerative Arthritis of the Spine with IVDS and Pars Defect with Anterolisthesis of L5-L1 (spine disorder), right lower extremity sciatic nerve disability, right lower extremity femoral nerve disability, left lower extremity sciatic nerve disability, and left lower extremity femoral nerve disability. The TDIU claim is also being remanded as it is intrinsically intertwined with the other issues on appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 40 percent throughout the pendency of this claim. Ratings for his left and right lower extremity sciatic nerve disabilities are also granted.
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