The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back condition, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, and lumbar spine surgical scar, as the evidence did not support a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms were not severe enough to warrant a higher rating based on the objective medical evidence of record, including range of motion testing results from a private evaluation in November 2012.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back condition (degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis), Right lower extremity radiculopathy impacting the sciatic nerves, Left lower extremity radiculopathy impacting the sciatic nerves, Lumbar spine surgical scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2025
- Citation
- 25013322
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 25013322.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and granted an earlier effective date for a lumbar spine surgical scar.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for the low back condition from September 24, 2024, and increased ratings of 20 percent each for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy impacting the sciatic and femoral nerves starting February 16, 2021.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied a rating in excess of 40 percent for the Veteran's low back condition, but granted a 20 percent rating for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy impacting the sciatic nerves from July 11, 2010. The ratings for other conditions were also denied.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative disc disease with spinal stenosis, status post fusion surgery and a compensable rating for a lumbar spine surgical scar to provide the Veteran an opportunity for VA examinations.
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