The Veteran's claims for initial ratings of his bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy and neuropathy are being remanded due to the complexity of the medical issues.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner is needed to differentiate between the symptoms attributed to the femoral nerve and those attributed to the sciatic nerve, as well as assess their severity on each nerve.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Lower Extremity Radiculopathy (Sciatic Nerve), Right Lower Extremity Radiculopathy (Sciatic Nerve), Left Lower Extremity Radiculopathy (Femoral Nerve), Right Lower Extremity Radiculopathy (Femoral Nerve)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 18, 2022
- Citation
- 22009830
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 22009830.
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's low back disability is rated at 40 percent, and his left and right lower extremity radiculopathy are each rated at 40 percent. The issues of increased ratings for these conditions have been granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's left and right lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve) have been granted increased disability ratings of 20 percent, effective April 22, 2024.,The Veteran's left and right lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve) have been granted increased disability ratings of 20 percent, effective April 22, 2024.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial ratings for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and radiculopathies of both lower extremities have been granted, with effective dates from December 3, 2020, to October 7, 2024.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings of his bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy are denied.
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