The Board has restored a 20% disability rating for service-connected right lower extremity radiculopathy effective December 11, 2018. The remaining claims are remanded due to inadequate VA examinations.
The deciding factor: VA examinations were found to be inadequate as they did not address functional loss during flare-ups or repetitive use over time, nor demarcate whether and at what point during the range of motion testing the Veteran experienced any limitation of motion that was specifically attributable to pain.
- Claimed conditions
- Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Arthritis of the left hip, Arthritis of the right hip, Right knee instability, Arthritis of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2022
- Citation
- 22000356
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (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 22000356.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's right lower extremity radiculopathy was evaluated at a 20 percent rating, and the Board found that it did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the claims for psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.,Service connection was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to a service-connected back disability, but denied for right wrist disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for degenerative disc disease prior to August 1, 2025 was denied as the evidence did not show unfavorable ankylosis of the thoracolumbar spine.,The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy prior to March 10, 2025 were denied as there is no neurological impairment associated with these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and lumbar spine was granted with effective dates of May 13, 2019.
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