The Board denied earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for bilateral lower extremity femoral and sciatic nerve radiculopathy, finding that there was no factual basis to establish entitlement prior to November 27, 2019.
The deciding factor: The weight of evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's radiculopathies were factually ascertainable prior to November 27, 2019, as earlier records lacked sufficient explanation and later examinations did not confirm symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- right lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy, left lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy, right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy, left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25044393
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 A25044393.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there are pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors in the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy, and thus remands the case to obtain addendum medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy was granted a disability rating of 40 percent, effective June 25, 2024. The decision found that the condition manifested with an incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve that was moderately severe.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates of February 24, 2023 for the Veteran's 20% ratings for left and right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy and his entitlement to TDIU.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's original disability ratings of 40 percent for his right and left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy, effective April 1, 2021.
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