The Board remands the claims for service connection for left and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary due to an identified pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding the Veteran's back disability, which is inextricably intertwined with these claims.
- Claimed conditions
- left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25035701
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a disability rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus and a rating greater than 20 percent for lumbosacral strain, but granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, lumbosacral strain, and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected conditions. The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for residuals of right ankle fracture and a rating in excess of 60 percent for the service-connected heart condition. The Board also denied a compensable disability rating for residual scar of the anterior trunk mid sternum status post coronary artery bypass graft.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew all pending appeals on April 28, 2025.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the award of service connection and denied increased ratings for various disabilities, but granted a separate rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy from October 20, 2020.
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