The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded for referral to the Director of Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b).
The deciding factor: The Veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to service-connected disabilities, and his unemployability is substantiated by VA and SSA records.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbar degenerative disc disease with spondylosis, Right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy, Left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, Scar of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2022
- Citation
- 22001568
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (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 22001568.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
- Granted
The reduction of the Veteran's evaluation for his back disability from 60 percent to 40 percent was improper, and the appeal is granted. The rating in excess of 60 percent for a back disability is denied. The ratings in excess of 20 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy are also denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected right lower extremity sciatic and femoral nerve radiculopathy with restless leg syndrome is currently rated at 20 percent, effective May 8, 2024. The appeal for higher ratings has been denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease and associated right and left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted TDIU on this basis.
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