The Board granted an effective date of June 17, 2019, for the award of service connection for bilateral lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy and bilateral lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's subjective symptoms and the positive straight leg testing in April 2021 VA examination provided sufficient evidence to establish the presence of radiculopathy as a result of his service-connected degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy, Bilateral lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2025
- Citation
- A25015808
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 352 · Granted: 37% (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 A25015808.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have precluded him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation since April 22, 2021.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran was granted a TDIU from March 5, 2008 to July 28, 2021 due to service-connected lumbar spine disability and bilateral lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy. The Board found that the Veteran's back disability alone prevented him from maintaining substantially gainful employment during this period.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is not service-connected, but his lumbar spine DDD and bladder incontinence are rated at the appropriate levels. The effective date for sciatic nerve radiculopathy has been granted.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
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