The Board remands the issues of entitlement to initial ratings in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the femoral nerve and in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve of both lower extremities, as additional development is necessary.
The deciding factor: A remand is necessary to afford the Veteran an appropriate VA examination to assess the current nature and severity of his service-connected disabilities, as he has alleged that they may have increased in severity since the last examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Radiculopathy of the femoral nerve of the right lower extremity, Radiculopathy of the femoral nerve of the left lower extremity, Radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve of the right lower extremity, Radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2024
- Citation
- 24032338
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 Board granted an effective date of July 14, 2020, for the grant of service connection for IVDS with spinal fusion and lumbar disc disease with stenosis, as well as associated radiculopathy of the sciatic and femoral nerves of the left and right lower extremities, and depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of March 4, 2019, for the grant of service connection for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity and a 20 percent disability rating for this condition. The earlier effective date claim for the left lower extremity was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased ratings and additional VA examinations to address the effects of medication on symptoms and ensure thorough evaluation.
- Partly granted
The Board granted disability ratings of 20 percent for each service-connected lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve from December 13, 2022, and remanded a rating in excess of 20 percent prior to January 4, 2024, and an excess of 40 percent thereafter, for degenerative disc disease (DDD), lumbar spine with bulging disc L5-S1 and intervertebral disc syndrome.
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