The Board granted a temporary total evaluation for the service-connected lumbar spine disability requiring convalescence from July 20, 2018, to August 31, 2018. The Board also granted initial ratings of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right and left lower extremities involving the sciatic nerve until certain dates, denied higher ratings, and granted a 50 percent rating for the lumbar spine disability starting September 1, 2018.
The deciding factor: The evidence was in equipoise as to whether the lumbar spine surgery required convalescence, and the radiculopathy of the lower extremities met criteria for 20 percent ratings until certain dates. The Board resolved reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity involving the sciatic nerve, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity involving the sciatic nerve, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity involving the femoral nerve, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity involving the femoral nerve, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity involving the external cutaneous nerve, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity involving the ilio-inguinal nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2025
- Citation
- 25014561
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 25014561.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. Service connection is being remanded for the lumbar spine disability and right knee and calf disabilities.
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