The Board remands the claims for a new VA medical opinion to address the severity of, and functional impairment resulting from, the Veteran's low back and right lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities without considering the ameliorative effects of medication.
The deciding factor: VA failed to ensure that it complied with a pre-decisional duty to assist by seeking to obtain private chiropractic treatment records referenced in the evidence of record at the time of the April 2020 rating decision, and did not address whether medication used by the Veteran provided relief or otherwise improved the symptoms of the Veteran's low back and right lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain with intervertebral disc syndrome (claimed as back injury), right lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve) (also claimed as nerve damage)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2025
- Citation
- A25100614
Want to see how appeals like this one tend to go? Appeals like mine
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.