The Board granted service connection for sinusitis and increased the ratings for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with IVDS, left ankle sprain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy to 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's low back disability, left leg radiculopathy, and left ankle disability were found to have additional functional loss during flare-ups that warranted a higher rating under the criteria for moderate incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve and forward flexion greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), left ankle sprain, left lower extremity radiculopathy, sinusitis (particulate exposure)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- June 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25056580
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 134 · Granted: 38% (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 A25056580.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy and denied the claims for right knee disability, erectile dysfunction, GERD, sleep apnea, and hypertension. The decision is remanded for further action on these issues.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for middle and index trigger finger/stenosing tenosynovitis of the right hand, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The earliest effective date is June 30, 2012, for the right hand condition and April 22, 2016, for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have left lower extremity radiculopathy or any related symptoms causing impairment in earning capacity during the appeal period, and therefore service connection for this condition is denied.
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