The Board granted initial ratings of 40 percent for a low back disability, and 10 percent each for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, effective October 23, 2013. The Board also granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the Veteran's pain and corresponding functional impairment, including during flare-ups, as well as neurological impairments of the lower extremities analogous to mild incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve. The Board also found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation since October 23, 2013.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disability (lumbosacral strain and IVDS), Left lower extremity radiculopathy, Right lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 26, 2025
- Citation
- 25002782
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