The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right lower extremity (RLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy from March 1, 2020, to August 4, 2020, and denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis with stenosis during the same period. The Board also denied other claims including service connection for residuals of head injury, traumatic brain injury (TBI), an initial compensable rating for posterior trunk scar, and effective dates prior to November 1, 2020, for separate ratings for sciatic and femoral nerve radiculopathies.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the severity of the Veteran's lumbar spine disability during the relevant period, which did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Board also found that there was no evidence to support an earlier effective date or service connection for the head injury residuals.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis with stenosis (lumbar spine disability), residuals of head injury, to include traumatic brain injury (TBI), posterior trunk scar, right lower extremity (RLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy, left lower extremity (LLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy, left lower extremity (LLE) femoral nerve radiculopathy, right lower extremity (RLE) femoral nerve radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- May 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25044005
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,902 · Granted: 11% (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 A25044005.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of sleep apnea, left lower extremity (LLE) sciatic nerve radiculopathy, and right ear hearing loss due to untimely filing.,The Board also dismissed the appeal for service connection of left ear hearing loss as moot because it was already granted in a prior decision.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 24, 2007, for the grant of service connection for lumbosacral strain but denied earlier effective dates for right and left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's hypertension was granted a 10 percent rating, but no higher. The claims for earlier effective dates for the separate ratings of sciatic and femoral nerve radiculopathy were denied, as well as the remanded claims for initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for left knee and lumbar spine disabilities.
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