The Board has vacated its January 2022 decision, which denied increased ratings for the Veteran's low back disability and right lower extremity nerves. The issues of increased ratings for sciatic radiculopathy and femoral radiculopathy are remanded. A compensable rating for a surgical scar on the back is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The January 2022 decision failed to address the issue of entitlement to TDIU prior to September 6, 2010, and did not properly evaluate the Veteran's low back disability under the General Rating Formula for Spine Disabilities due to a lack of incapacitating episodes.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the low back, Sciatic radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, Femoral radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, Surgical scar on the back
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 8, 2023
- Citation
- 23044183
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 23044183.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine disability, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left foot crush injury, and sciatic radiculopathy of both lower extremities, also secondary to the newly service-connected lumbar spine disability. The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for depressive disorder with unspecified anxiety disorder and a compensable rating for allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted restoration of a 40 percent disability rating for the low back and sciatic radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, denied increased ratings for these conditions, and granted an effective date of October 11, 2022, for the award of service connection for femoral radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities. The Board also granted a TDIU and DEA benefits from March 16, 2015.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of increased disability ratings for the back and lower extremity neurological disabilities due to the need for additional development, including a new VA peripheral nerves examination.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a staged initial rating of 20 percent and no higher for sciatic radiculopathy of the right lower extremity prior to August 10, 2016, and 40 percent from that date. The same ratings were also granted for the left lower extremity.
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