The Board granted an initial rating of 40 percent for the appellant's lumbar spine disability, effective March 7, 2011.,An initial rating of 10 percent was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, effective June 10, 2005.,An initial rating of 10 percent was granted for left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, also effective June 10, 2005.,The Board granted a TDIU (Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability) effective August 1, 2006.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the appellant's lumbar spine disability did not meet criteria for an increased rating beyond 40 percent. The right and left lower extremity radiculopathy were rated based on their respective severity as per VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- November 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20074629
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,810 · 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 20074629.
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 a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- 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 Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- 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.
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