The Board denied initial evaluations in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities affecting the sciatic nerve, as there was no evidence to support a finding of complete paralysis or severe incomplete paralysis with marked muscle atrophy.
The deciding factor: The lack of motor and reflex impairment found on VA examinations did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under Diagnostic Code 8520.
- Claimed conditions
- Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity affecting the sciatic nerve, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity affecting the sciatic nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25037933
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 926 · Granted: 33% (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 A25037933.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted a 40 percent rating from September 28, 2019 for the Veteran's service-connected intervertebral disc syndrome with disc herniation L3-S1, status post discectomy L3-4 and L4-5. The other conditions have been rated based on their direct service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's back disability, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy affecting the sciatic nerve, and right and left lower extremity radiculopathy affecting the femoral nerve are all rated at 20 percent since November 12, 2021.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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