The Board denied earlier effective dates for the award of a 20 percent rating for service-connected back disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as well as remanded the claim for total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to September 1, 2023.
The deciding factor: The earliest date that it is factually ascertainable that an increase in the back disability took place was after September 1, 2023, and there were no symptoms of radiculopathy associated with the back disability prior to this date.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease, anterolisthesis and retrolisthesis, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, sciatic nerve, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, sciatic nerve, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, femoral nerve, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, femoral nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2025
- Citation
- A25024899
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 163 · 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 A25024899.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for intervertebral disc syndrome with spinal stenosis and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, sciatic nerve are being remanded due to outstanding medical records and inadequate prior VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an earlier effective date and higher initial rating for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity due to a duty to assist error regarding notification of the Veteran's right to a hearing.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, sciatic nerve but denied an initial compensable disability rating for right knee strain, limitation of extension.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for sinusitis and remanded the claims for increased ratings for degenerative disc disease, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, degenerative joint disease of the left knee, and degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder.
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