The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for sciatic radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities due to insufficient evidence regarding his restless legs and altered gait.
The deciding factor: Insufficient evidence was provided to determine whether the Veteran's restless legs are a separately diagnosed disability or simply a symptom of his radiculopathy, and if his altered gait is due to his service-connected sciatic radiculopathy or another condition.
- Claimed conditions
- sciatic radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2023
- Citation
- 23018646
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 23018646.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the proposed reduction in disability rating for lumbar decompression and fusion with lumbosacral strain is dismissed. The Veteran's initial higher disability ratings for sciatic radiculopathy of both lower extremities are denied, but he is granted a TDIU.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities, finding that his physical limitations could be accommodated by sedentary employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity and remanded the claim for adjustment disorder. The Veteran's radiculopathy is not shown to be related to his military service, while his adjustment disorder may be related to civilian life.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded due to a duty-to-assist error in the previous VA examination, which did not discount the ameliorative effects of her pain medication. The case is also remanded for consideration of TDIU as part of the evaluation of her back disability.
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