The Board remands the issues of an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy and entitlement to a TDIU prior to August 12, 2023, due to insufficient medical evidence.
The deciding factor: Insufficient medical evidence was provided to distinguish symptoms attributable specifically to the sciatic nerve versus the saphenous nerve or IVDS, and to determine the severity of the Veteran's left lower extremity sciatic nerve symptoms in the absence of medication and treatment at specific times over the course of the period on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve, left lower extremity radiculopathy of the internal saphenous nerve, IVDS with spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2025
- Citation
- 25012482
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 837 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 25012482.
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
Your initial evaluations for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve have been granted, but your appeal is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all issues on appeal as the May 2024 rating decision was a purely ministerial implementation of the April 2024 Board decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disabilities, as well as their associated radiculopathy conditions, are remanded for further development. The fibromyalgia with headaches claim is also remanded due to a duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected RUE brachial plexus injury and lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve should be rated higher than their current noncompensable (0 percent) ratings.
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