The Board remands the claims for an initial rating in excess of 40 percent for a low back disability, an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, and entitlement to a TDIU due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that there are outstanding non-VA treatment records and insufficient detail in the VA examination reports, which must be corrected before making a final decision on the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with intervertebral disc syndrome (low back disability), Sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the left lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25034501
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,757 · Granted: 23% (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 A25034501.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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 appeal is remanded for additional examinations to assess the severity of her service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with lumbarization of S1, as well as her sciatic nerve radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities. The claims are inextricably intertwined due to their association.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 22, 2020, for compensable ratings and service connection for sciatic nerve radiculopathy in the right and left lower extremities.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to increased ratings for right ankle, right ankle scar, low back, femoral nerve, and sciatic nerve disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's lower back disability, sciatic nerve radiculopathy of both lower extremities, and internal and external cutaneous nerve radiculopathies. However, it granted restoration of a 40 percent rating for sciatic nerve radiculopathy in both lower extremities from April 1, 2020, and awarded TDIU effective February 1, 2019.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.